The Herbalist
by wolf's lament
Summary: Set between The Boiling Rock Part II and The Southern Raiders. When Sokka brings back a Fire Nation disease to the Western Air Temple, Zuko and Toph must travel to the Fire Nation to find a cure. However, they find themselves mixed up in a small town's politics overseen by someone Zuko never thought he would have to face again. Written for the Avatar Big Bang.
1. Aftermath of the Boiling Rock

**This story is meant to take place between the Boiling Rock Part II and The Southern Raiders. Originally posted for the Avatar Big Bang (I know, it's been a while). I'll be uploading it in four parts. Expect the next part within a week.  
**

**Thank you to sparkydame on livejournal for betaing this. It would not have been even half as good without you.  
**

* * *

_**The Herbalist Part I - Aftermath of the Boiling Rock  
**_

The hot Fire Nation summer never quite reached the land of the Air Nomads. Zuko wondered if it was the altitude or the fact the Western Air Temple was sheltered from the Sun for most of the day. He had never understood how people could live without seeing the Sun for weeks or months, like the stories he had heard of the Water Tribes. He shuddered at the thought, remembering The Cooler and how knowing that he would eventually get out of there was one of the few things that had kept him going.

Muffled, heavy footsteps approached from behind, interrupted by a hacking cough before the newcomer continued towards the ledge Zuko was sitting on. A friendly hand was placed on his shoulder and Zuko sent Sokka a withering look when he realized it was the same hand the boy had covered his mouth with while coughing. The offending appendage was removed before Zuko could do something stupid, like threaten Katara's brother, and Sokka gave him a dopey grin, puzzling Zuko to no end. Maybe he just was not as intimidating as he used to be, but thinking about his friendship with Sokka, Zuko found he did not mind too much.

Sokka let out a sigh of contentment and the two boys looked out over to the opposite canyon wall, where the moon's light reflected on it, making the rocks appear to glow slightly. They sat in silence for a little while – after all, Zuko would never be the one to start a conversation unless he had to – but it did not seem to bother Sokka either, who seemed just as happy to enjoy a bit of quiet.

"Thanks again… you know…" Sokka said finally, keeping his gaze pointedly away from Zuko and towards the opposite wall, "… for helping to break my dad out."

Despite the cool temperature, Zuko could not help but feel warm inside from Sokka's appreciation. They glanced towards each other, each with a goofy smile across his face, before they both turned to look back out at the canyon below. After another beat of silence, Zuko finally replied.

"Anytime, Sokka."

* * *

Dinner was less tense then it had been in previous days, though in Zuko's opinion that meant very little. Katara continued to send him narrowed looks any time that someone said something remotely nice about him, which unfortunately was quite often that evening due to Sokka's flamboyant storytelling.

"…and then Chit Sang was all like argh! Elbow slam!" Sokka described, using expressive gestures to help describe the 'awesomeness' of the action. Suki, Zuko noted, was doing a very good job of protecting Sokka's bowl of food from his own wild gestures. Sokka, who was oblivious to the danger, continued his tale, "But Zuko spun out of the way, flipped over and then, pow!" Sokka sent out his fist the same way he had remembered Zuko doing at the Boiling Rock.

"He punched him?" Toph frowned; obviously puzzled as to why Sokka thought that was so amazing. "Wow, Hotman, you really know how to let down an action scene."

Zuko sent her a look he knew she would never notice and Katara snickered not so subtly behind her hand. Zuko frowned even more.

"What!? No, that's not what happened!" Sokka quickly denied, trying to bring the 'cool factor' back into the story. "Zuko shot a fireball at him." He repeated the punch he had demonstrated earlier. "Remember, firebending wasn't allowed?"

"Well," Aang cut in, ever the diplomat. "That makes a lot more sense. So then what happened, Sokka?"

"Well, then these crazily strong guards…"

Sokka's tale was once again interrupted, but this time by his own coughing. Zuko looked towards him in concern and out of the corner of this eye saw Katara doing the same thing.

"Sokka, maybe you should take a break from the storytelling," Katara suggested, crawling over to feel his forehead with her palm. "You don't sound so good."

"Don't worry about it, Katara. It's probably just because I've been breathing in too much coal smoke. I'm sure that stuff's not good for you." Sokka waved off her concern.

Katara frowned and opened her mouth to say something, but Sokka continued his defense.

"Besides, I'm sure everyone here wants to hear the story and I can't leave it at the part where Zuko gets taken to The Coolers, now can I?"

Katara placed one of her hands on her hip ready to argue some more, "You weren't the only one there, Sokka. I'm sure someone _else_ can tell the story."

"Yeah, but Zuko's terrible at telling good stories. You remember his joke delivery, right?"

"Hey, I…" Zuko began his defense, but shied back when he saw the intense argument brewing between the two siblings.

"Sokka, you have a fever. It's been a long couple of days, so the last thing you need is to be tiring yourself further. For all we know you caught something from the Boiling Rock."

Suddenly Hakoda stepped in between the two siblings. He placed a firm hand on each one of his children's shoulders to grab their attention. "All right you two, that's enough. I think it has been a long day for everyone, so why don't we _all_ get an early night's sleep? Sokka, you can continue your story tomorrow."

"Come to think of it," Aang said with a yawn, "I'm feeling pretty tired myself."

Sokka glared at him, and then sat back despondently. "Fine."

"Goodnight everyone!" Aang excused himself cheerfully, but Zuko was quick to grab his attention.

"Aang, don't forget practice first thing tomorrow morning."

"Sure thing, Sifu Hotman."

Aang absently waved before walking further into the temple, completely ignoring Zuko's earlier complaint about the name. Soon the others followed suit and Zuko found himself alone in the courtyard.

Deciding he was too wide-awake from the day's events, Zuko carefully placed another log on the fire and with a flick of his hand sent the flames around to devour it. He was still surprised at how easily the fire was his to command after his trip to learn from the dragons with Aang. With a small smile of satisfaction at the thought, Zuko set about making a pot of tea using a slightly chipped set that they had found inside the temple.

"Mind making me a cup too?"

Zuko almost dropped the pot in surprise, utilizing his skills learnt from carrying ceramics in Ba Sing Se to catch it in time. He sent a glare over to Toph, as she walked up to sit beside him. With a subtle gesture, she bent a stone into a roughly comfortable-looking shape and leaned back against it, folding her hands behind her head. While one foot remained firmly on the ground, the other was lazily crossed over her knee and she turned her face towards him with a grin that showed she was completely aware of her lack of manners and was wholly unapologetic.

Zuko shot her another glare that he knew she would not be able to see, but which gave him a level of satisfaction, before setting the pot above the fire. He walked back over and sat next to Toph, draping an arm over his bent leg. He watched the shifting flames and made sure they did not get too high and crack the pot.

At first the continuing silence was comfortable, but the longer Zuko thought about it, the more he wondered if he should be striking up conversation. It was not much longer before he became quite agitated at the awkward silence while Toph continued to lie down in a relaxed position, doing nothing to break it. He coughed into his fist before looking around in an attempt to find a safe topic.

"So… uh… nice weather we're having." Zuko cringed as soon as the words came out of his mouth, preparing himself for a scathing response.

Toph closed her eyes and smirked. "Maybe you should give up on the small talk, Princess; it really isn't your forte."

Zuko sighed and collapsed backwards, lying back in a similar position to Toph's, but less comfortably. He was not sure what to make of her alternative nickname for him. Relaxing marginally, he looked up to the Temple's ceiling above them.

"I'm just not very sociable." He chose to ignore her snort. "I can't tell good stories, I can barely cook, I'm a disaster at hunting and my tea is nothing compared to my uncle's."

Out of the corner of his eye, Zuko saw Toph open her eyes again with a frown, "Hey, if you're looking for pity you've come to the wrong girl."

"I think you're currently the most sympathetic girl towards me in the group." Zuko turned his head and smiled at her. "Sorry, this is all pretty new for me. I'm still used to giving orders, not fitting in."

Toph blew her hair out of her face, though it promptly fell back in front of her eyes. "Tell me about it. My parents may have kept me hidden, but anything I wanted I got… well, as long as it was deemed _safe_. But don't worry, you're not the only one who had trouble fitting in at first. I got into a fight with Katara and then got yelled at by Aang. Even _you_ haven't been yelled at by Aang!"

Zuko huffed, "At least you haven't been chasing them for the better part of the year, or been the son of the man they're trying to defeat, or tied the Avatar's waterbending master to a tree."

Toph's eyebrows rose, "Woah, you tied _Katara_ to a tree? No wonder she's so snarky around you."

Zuko looked away in shame, shoulders hunching up over himself. "That's… not exactly why." He said haltingly.

Toph sat up with obvious puzzlement and a bit of curiosity. "So what happened?"

Zuko looked guiltily into the fire, switching his attention to the boiling pot of water. He grabbed it with his bare hand before checking the temperature and putting in the dried flowers for the tea. "I hope you don't mind jasmine."

Toph, seeming to understand that he wanted to direct the conversation away from Katara, decided to take pity on him for once. "Honestly, I don't drink much tea."

Zuko waited a few more moments for the tea to brew before pouring out two cups and handing one of them to Toph, then picking up his own cup and taking a sip. He kept his eyes intently on Toph's face, as she took a sip and smacked her lips together a few times.

* * *

Toph leaned back on her rock and set the cup down delicately. "You know for a pansy little flower, this tastes pretty good."

Zuko chuckled and Toph found herself smiling at the sound. She felt Zuko shift so that he was lying back on the ground and listened as he took in a deep breath. When he breathed out she suddenly felt a wash of heat that was definitely _not_ coming from the fire.

"You blowing smoke over there?"

"Flames actually; a technique from the dragons that my uncle taught me."

Toph could practically feel Zuko's guilt when he mentioned his uncle. The smile slipped from her face and she turned to face him.

"You really miss him don't you?"

Zuko took in another breath and this time Toph heard the rush of flames along with the smell of smoke. He then stuck out his arm and lightly touched her hand. At first Toph wondered what he was doing, but then the heat reached her cold fingers. It felt like he had been keeping his hands in front of the fire and then moved them to her hand, except the heat stayed. The Air Temple was getting cooler and suddenly that heat felt like the nicest thing in the world. Although it was the middle of summer in the Fire Nation, the cold ocean breezes that came through the Western Air Temple really cooled everything down once the sun set below the horizon. Toph shivered.

"So, now I know where to go when I'm feeling a bit cold during the night."

Zuko snatched his hand back, sitting up in horror at the idea of her coming in to share a bed with him. "What? No! I've seen the way you sprawl out across the floor of your room. My bed's hardly big enough for one, let alone you."

"Aww, come on. You want to make up for burning my feet don't you?"

Zuko stood up and Toph had to fight to keep from smirking. "You're the one that couldn't defend herself properly against my attack."

Toph cracked each of her knuckles with a huge grin on her face. "What was that? You want me to bury you up to your neck?"

Toph readied herself to show him a few things, but a sound from inside the temple alerted the two to another presence. Zuko crouched into a firebending stance and Toph placed hands and feet on the ground to find out who it was, attempting to look casual about it.

* * *

"What are you kids still doing awake?"

Zuko relaxed when he realized it was just Hakoda walking towards them with a look of parental disapproval. With arms crossed over his chest and one raised eyebrow Hakoda regarded the two critically before settling his gaze on Zuko.

"Well?" he asked expectantly at their silence.

Zuko began fumbling for an answer under the older man's gaze, but Toph was thankfully ready with a reply.

"We couldn't sleep so we were just having some tea together."

Hakoda turned his gaze towards Toph, and Zuko finally felt the thoughts in his head start to make sense again. "Sorry, Chief Hakoda, I needed to clear my head and Toph came out to join me."

Hakoda sighed, "I can understand you've had a big day, young man, but keeping up the younger kids," he continued though Toph's protest that she wasn't a kid, "is not very good behavior."

Zuko looked away in shame, wondering if he would ever be able to gain an adult's approval. Without looking at either Toph or Hakoda, he cleaned up the teacups and threw any leftover tea onto the fire before putting it out completely with his firebending. Turning to Hakoda, but not looking the man in the eyes, he bowed at the waist.

"My apologies, it won't happen again, sir." Keeping his eyes on the temple in front of him Zuko walked away towards his room, not wanting to look back.

"Hey, wait a sec," called Toph, and Zuko forced himself to stay where he was. "Hotman, my feet are still a bit tender. Could you carry me to my room?"

Zuko attempted to push away the guilt of burning her feet by reminding himself that she had been fine earlier in the day. Forgetting Hakoda's rebuke for a few seconds, he narrowed his eyes at her, and Toph, seeming to sense it, sent him a cheeky grin. He was tempted to call her out on it, but the long fight that might ensue for such a comparatively short journey hardly seemed worth the effort.

Finally, he sighed in resignation, walked back towards her and pointedly ignored the man watching him like a falcon-hawk. "Just don't call me Hotman."

Toph whooped and jumped up onto his back. Zuko barely managed to catch her and shifted his arms under her legs, bouncing her up higher so that she could easily wrap her arms around his neck.

"You know, having someone carry me around sounds like a fun idea, but not being able to see is a bit of a pain," Toph observed, puffing stray hairs away from her face.

"I can always set you down," Zuko offered, loosening his grip on her legs.

In response, Toph tightened her grip around Zuko's neck and he made a strangled noise before pulling her higher up his back again. "Okay, I get it," he choked out.

Zuko just about caught Toph's smirk out of the corner of his eye and he sighed, accepting his fate. Not that he minded as much as he was letting on (something Toph probably realized). It was nice being appreciated for who he was, rather than someone he had to pretend to be. He attempted to ignore the pang in his chest once again at the thought of Uncle.

Sensing Toph's impatience (which was made even clearer by a short kick to his side), he walked off towards their sleeping quarters, shushing Toph every-so-often when her giggles would become too loud.

"I guess now I know where Katara gets her mothering from."

Zuko shifted his head slightly to show he had heard, but made no noise of indication. He set her down just inside her room and bid her a quick good night before walking to his own bed.

* * *

The next morning Zuko's eyes cracked open to see the sunlight already streaming into his room. After a second of processing, Zuko sat bolt upright, realizing he had completely overslept due to staying up so late. Throwing on his clothes, Zuko almost tripped over himself leaving his room and rushing outside. Putting a hand over his eyes to shield them from the Sun, he took a look around the courtyard to see that only Chit Sang was sitting there looking a little bored.

Glancing around and wondering if Katara was about to attack him with a torrent of water, Zuko walked wearily over to the older firebender. "So, where is everyone?"

Chit Sang took one look at him and turned back to look at the water fountain in disinterest. "The others are all still asleep. How they can all get up so late is beyond me."

Zuko cringed slightly, knowing that he was part of that group that was still asleep only a few moments before. Zuko frowned, puzzled, as he turned back towards the inner temple where the others were possibly still sleeping. While he could understand if Hakoda and Toph were still asleep after how late they had stayed up, he was a bit surprised about Aang, considering the young Avatar was now a firebender and had gone to bed at a decent hour.

Zuko walked through the corridors, the sound of boots hitting the floor echoing up and along the walls with faded pictures of sky bison. Finally coming to stand in front of Aang's door, Zuko gave a firm knock and called Aang's name before walking in. He blinked to adjust his eyes to the darkness and eventually saw Aang lying tangled up in his thin blankets.

Cautiously, Zuko walked over and gently shook the younger boy's shoulder. Rather than giving the explosive response that Zuko was dreading, Aang merely turned over with a mumble and a feeble push with his hand in Zuko's direction. Zuko raised his eyebrow, unimpressed and slightly amused, but ultimately he needed Aang to wake up.

"Aang, we've got firebending practice."

Again rather than shooting up out of bed, Aang mumbled something incoherent in response, but turned over and seemed to finally focus on Zuko. "Oh, hey Zuko." His eyes closed again.

Worried, Zuko felt his forehead and was not too surprised to find that Aang was burning up, even by the standards of firebenders. Zuko frowned and stood up. "You're sick. I'm going to get Katara."

"No, wait!" Zuko looked down in surprise at the desperate, pale hands that grasped his wrist. "I'm up! Besides, I have to learn firebending before the end of the summer! We can just work on the basics or something, please?"

Some of the color seemed to be returning to Aang's cheeks already and Zuko bit his lip, realizing he had already relented. Letting out a sigh, he stopped pulling and Aang let go of him, "Fine, but I say what we're working on and when we stop. Got it?"

"Yep!" Aang grinned brightly.

Zuko started them off on mediation with a flame in front and while Aang shut his eyes to concentrate, Zuko kept his open to monitor the younger boy's condition. They sat in the courtyard where the sunlight was just finding its way in, casting long shadows with the columns. A few minutes in and already a sheen of sweat was forming on Aang. Zuko had had enough.

"Alright, I think that's enough."

"Huh?" Aang's less than coherent response did little to ease Zuko's anxiety. "But we haven't even gone over the basics yet. Please Zuko; I need to master firebending before the comet!"

Aang descended into a coughing fit at the end, strengthening Zuko's resolve. He placed a firm hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "Aang, I know you have a lot to learn, but we can do much more once you're better."

Aang looked away, ashamed. "But what if I can't learn everything in time?"

"You don't have to fight him alone. Katara, Sokka, Toph and I will help you as much as we can."

Aang looked at Zuko, who removed his hand. "You'd fight your own father?"

Zuko glanced away for a moment at a distant memory, but when his eyes returned to Aang they were resolute. "I've done it before, but this time I _know _what he's doing is wrong."

"When did you fight?"

Zuko could not help it when he turned the left side of his face away from Aang's sight. Even now, the memory was still painful. Though it no longer brought the shame that it used to – Zuko knew he had been in the right – a small part of him still wanted his father's approval without the cost of the World.

"Come on." Zuko held out a hand to pull him up, which Aang accepted, seemingly forgetting his question – much to Zuko's relief. "Let's go find Katara and get you training again."

Despite their slow pace, it was not much longer before Aang and Zuko arrived back at the plaza with the still damaged fountain at the center. They had been gone for some time so Zuko was surprised to see that apart from Chit Sang, who was lounging in the sunlight, no one else seemed to be awake yet.

"Chit Sang, have you seen Katara?" Zuko asked as he set Aang down on the rim of the ruined water fountain.

The ex-convict turned lazily to look at Zuko and shook his head. "Sorry I haven't seen any of them yet."

Zuko frowned, wondering where everyone could be considering the sun was relatively high in the sky and few people trusted him alone with Aang. Glancing down at Aang, who still had a sheen of sweat around him despite the low-level training, he made a quick decision.

"Aang, you stay here and cool off, while I find out where the others are." He glanced at Chit Sang, debating whether it was wise to leave Aang alone with him.

Aang seemed to understand Zuko's concern and tapped him on the shoulder before sending him a reassuring grin. The suspicion left Zuko for the time and he stood up from his crouching position.

"Chit Sang, do you mind keeping an eye on Aang?"

Chit Sang made no verbal response, but made an 'OK' symbol with his hand. Zuko sent one more worried look at Aang, who shrugged. Sighing, he walked into the temple to find the others.

It took some time for Zuko's eyes to adjust to the dark inside of the Air Temple even with the flame he formed in his palm. It was easy to get lost in the temple, with staircases that suddenly opened up to nothing and rooms that could only be explored by airbenders or people with climbing gear.

A crash alerted Zuko to something up ahead and he ran into one of the great halls to see Haru and Toph practicing their earthbending. The next thing he knew, Zuko was dodging a particularly large rock aimed straight for his head. Scowling in the direction of the projectile, he saw Toph grinning as she smashed the rocks Haru was shooting at her.

"Sorry there, _Princess_. I didn't _see_ you."

Zuko did not know whether to be angrier at his new nickname or her sight joke. Out of the corner of his right eye, Zuko saw The Duke sitting on a rock watching him with Momo on his lap, which was a little unnerving when neither blinked. Momo suddenly hopped off The Duke's lap and swooped over to Zuko's shoulder, curling himself around the back of the firebender's neck for warmth.

Zuko attempted to ignore the creature and focus on his mission. "Toph, have you seen Katara?"

"Sorry, I don't think I've_ seen _her."

Zuko slapped himself in the forehead for his stupidity, causing Momo to cling to his shirt tightly, and Zuko reworded the question. "Do you _know_ where Katara is?"

"I don't think she's been up yet," piped a small voice to his right.

Zuko turned to see The Duke rub some snot away from his nose and turn to look at Haru for confirmation. The earthbender stopped throwing rocks and looked from The Duke to Zuko.

"Yeah, come to think of it she's normally up by now. Do you think she's… ooph!" Haru was cut off from asking any more questions when a small bolder smacked into his side.

"You snooze, you lose, Moustache Boy."

Zuko backed away slowly, almost forgetting to add the quick 'thank you' as he left. Momo jumped off and glided ahead towards the others' rooms while Zuko followed at a slower pace behind. As they approached the Water Tribe siblings' rooms, Zuko was surprised to hear fierce arguing, interrupted by the occasional choking cough. Using his skills as the Blue Spirit, Zuko pushed himself close to the wall and crept up to the door. Momo seemed to sense his desire to remain unseen and hopped back up on Zuko's shoulder, letting out a low inquisitive trill.

"How do we know he didn't just take you there to get us all sick? With everyone weakened it would be easy for the Fire Nation to attack us."

Zuko's heart sunk and unconsciously he found himself pressed to the wall behind the door so as not to be seen, listening into their conversation with a sickening feeling.

"Come on, Katara," her brother protested, "don't you think Zuko would have just handed us over to his sister at the Boiling Rock and told her where to find you if he was going to turn us in?"

"Why are you suddenly taking_ his_ side?" Katara cried out, but was quickly shushed by her father and a wracking cough.

"Katara, you need to calm down. It's not helping your fever."

It was just then that Momo decided he was bored hiding with Zuko and let out a friendly trill, swooping off Zuko's shoulder towards the room. Zuko tried to make a grab for the flying lemur, but missed, allowing Momo to land inside and blowing his cover. Realizing he would need to reveal himself, Zuko took in a breath for courage and stepped into the room, keeping his gaze more towards Sokka and Suki, who was sitting just behind the Water Tribe boy, than a furious-looking Katara sitting on her bed out of the corner of his eye, glaring darkly at him. A tense silence followed as everyone tried to think of something to say.

"Uh… hi," Zuko said, giving an awkward wave while Momo swooped back onto his shoulder, seemingly unaware of the tense atmosphere he had just instigated.

"Hey, Zuko," Sokka finally greeted with a too-wide grin on his face, trying to be as friendly as possible considering the tension leaking through the room. "Shouldn't you and Aang be practicing jerkbending?"

"Aang's not feeling well," Zuko responded, shoulders hunching over, ready for the onslaught he was about to receive from Katara.

"I think we may be dealing with the Soldier's Sickness," Hakoda supplied, while his son started another coughing fit.

Zuko frowned, looking towards Hakoda. "I've never heard of that before."

"Probably not," Hakoda agreed, "since it's referred to by another name in the Fire Nation. The illness got its name in the Earth Kingdom due to villages getting breakouts after Fire Nation soldiers went through."

"Fire Fever," Zuko almost whispered in worry.

Hakoda nodded, recognizing the name. "I lost a few of my men to it when we first hit one of the colonial towns that was in the middle of an outbreak at the time. We only survived because an Earth Kingdom traveler came upon us and noticed the symptoms."

Katara and Sokka's eyes widened and Zuko's expression became thoughtful. "It's still very common in the Fire Nation too. Azula and I got it during an outbreak when we were kids. Every town that has a herbalist or a doctor that keeps around the treatment for Fire Fever."

"Great, then we can just fly to the Fire Nation and get a cure," concluded Suki in apparent relief.

"Yes, but it is probably best if the sick stay here and we only send a few who have already come in contact with the disease. The last thing we need is to be starting another outbreak and drawing attention to ourselves," Hakoda interjected.

"So who's going to go?" Suki glanced between Zuko and the others.

"What I don't get is that if this disease is so common why have Aang, Sokka and I been able to avoid it for the better part of the year?" Katara asked with a frown.

"Fire Fever breaks out at random times and villages tend to close themselves to outsiders to prevent its spread," Zuko replied, looking at each face around the circle as he spoke, "so if you didn't stay in a village very long then it's unlikely you would have ever come across it."

"Also," added Hakoda, "it tends to become a problem mostly in the summer, which is also when the Fire Nation advances the most."

"Longer days," explained Zuko.

"All right." Hakoda stood and looked at Sokka and Katara. "Sokka, Katara you two stay in here. I'll have Chit Sang bring Aang in while the rest of us figure out the best solution." He motioned for Suki and Zuko to follow him before walking out.

Zuko gave one last look towards Sokka and Katara, sharing a concerned glance with Suki before the two followed behind Hakoda, their shoes echoing down the long corridors. Zuko felt the light weight leave his shoulder as Momo, having played his part, once again swooped away.

* * *

"Our best chance is going to the Fire Nation," concluded Zuko; standing up in front of the remaining members of 'Team Avatar' – Hakoda, Chit Sang, Suki, Toph, Haru and The Duke; Teo had also caught the illness.

"What about the colonies?" Suki asked. "Wouldn't it be safer to go somewhere potentially friendly?"

"The Fire Nation doesn't have reliable supplies out there," Haru interjected, arms folded over his chest. "The cure is grown in the Fire Nation and since the invasion I would be surprised if supply lines are running as usual."

"The Fire Nation could also withhold it from an area they think is plotting against them. So we might have to travel to several villages, which would increase our chances of being caught by Fire Nation patrols. My… the Fire Lord," Zuko quickly corrected, feeling slightly awkward mentioning his father, "is unlikely to distribute wanted posters for anyone from the invasion except Aang, so no one should be looking for our faces."

Toph suddenly looked a bit sheepish, "Yeah, so I might have scammed a Fire Nation town or two. Mind if we stay away from them?"

"We should probably stay away from _any_ towns you kids have visited," agreed Hakoda.

"Well, doesn't that bring us to the question of who should go?" Suki asked, looking around the group from her seat on the edge of the ruined water fountain.

"Someone from the Fire Nation should," Hakoda reasoned, looking from Zuko, who nodded with a determined expression, to Chit Sang, who was once again lying in the sun and only half listening to the conversation. "They'll be much more natural with Fire Nation customs and can draw attention away from the rest of the group."

At this Chit Sang swiveled around into a sitting position. "I don't wanna put a damper on your planning, but I'm not going near the Fire Nation again until I know I'm not gonna be put straight back into The Boiling Rock or worse."

"That's fine. I'll go."

Zuko felt the weight of the group as all their eyes focused on him, some confused, some concerned. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Suki, worry clear in her voice.

"I'm in too," Toph volunteered, raising a hand. "We'll keep our heads down and I can tell if people are keeping things from us."

Hakoda sighed, "I should probably come too. You kids will need an adult with you."

"Don't worry about it, Pops." Toph shrugged off his concern. "We travelled through the Fire Nation and no one raised so much as an eyebrow over four kids travelling alone."

"There's a lot of movement between the home islands and the colonies. No one will think anything of it if we say we're part of a group visiting family," Zuko assured before Hakoda could worry any more. "Besides, I'm sure Sokka and Katara want to spend time with you."

"I'd like to stay and help too if you two don't mind?" interjected Suki.

"I'll go with them, then," Haru relented, uncrossing his arms. "Three is probably a good number since I'm assuming we're taking Appa. I can stay with him while you two get the medicine."

A tentative smile made its way across Zuko's face and Toph grinned. "All right! What're we waiting for?"

"Let's check with Sokka that you're not planning to get supplies from somewhere that will recognize you." Hakoda said with amusement.

Toph stuck out her tongue as Zuko laughed with the others.


	2. The Village

_**The Herbalist Part II – The Village**_

Appa let out a low groan as they sped towards the Fire Nation islands with Zuko urging the sky bison faster and faster. It seemed as if luck was on their side when they approached their chosen island, as the heavens threatened to unleash a strong storm, dark clouds blocking out the sun and turning the sky almost black. A few spots of rain splashed Toph's skin, but the warmth and humidity kept her from being cold as they descended on a dense tropical forest that Zuko and Haru assured her was near a village.

Sure enough, when Toph jumped down from Appa's side she dug her toes in the ground and felt the distant hum of people walking around; some of the vibrations dampened by what was most-likely wooden flooring. She tried not to make a face at the idea of not being able to see when they walked into shops.

"Are you sure you will be all right?" Haru questioned as he took Appa's reigns from Zuko.

Appa gave a concerned whiffle and Zuko placed a reassuring hand on the sky bison's nose. "Barely anyone this far from the Capitol will recognize me. We'll be quick, but if there is any trouble then take Appa and head towards the Earth Kingdom. Only when you've lost any tails can you head towards the Western Air Temple. The last thing we want is Azula to find them when Aang's not at full strength."

Haru nodded, his grip on Appa's reigns tightening. Toph sighed in boredom and began walking towards the nearest town.

"Stop worrying so much, Moustache Boy." She could feel Zuko turning to walk after her. "We'll be there and back with the medicine before you know it. You can even use the time to practice locating people with earthbending." She casually waved back while Zuko lengthened his stride to quickly catch up with her.

Zuko's cloak swished around him as he slowed and pulled the hood over his head. Toph, who was also wearing a cloak, decided to leave hers down unless it started raining any more than the couple of drops that occasionally leaked through the trees. After all, she was much less likely to be recognized in the same way Zuko was in the Fire Nation… well, except in that one town.

Zuko suddenly took a long, deep breath, meaning he was either about to firebend or he was about to ask something and he was worried about her reaction. Since Toph was unable to feel anyone nearby, she assumed it was the latter. Sure enough, a moment later he let out the breath and Toph felt the urge to roll her eyes (however sighted people did it), choosing to show her annoyance by letting out a short huff.

"Would you just spit it out already?" She asked impatiently.

Zuko jumped slightly, obviously forgetting her awareness of him in his nervousness. He fumbled a bit before speaking awkwardly. "We should probably use more common names just in case people recognize our ones. You can call me Lee."

Toph noted with interest that the name fell from his tongue as if he was familiar with it. Maybe it had been his false name in the Earth Kingdom, after all, there were hundreds of guys called Lee there too. "Fine, as long as I don't have to be Sa Fire."

Zuko paused to turn and look at her, genuine confusion evident in his voice. "Why would you use a name like that?"

"I didn't, but Katara did when she was pretending to be Aang's mom when he enrolled in a school. Blame Sokka."

Zuko let out a snort of amusement and Toph laughed more openly beside him as she pondered some of the girls' names she had heard. "What about Mai? I heard a lot of girls' names containing Mai in them."

Zuko stumbled slightly, his heart speeding up. Just as Toph was going to suggest something else, he replied quietly, "Yeah… that should be fine."

The sudden crunch of leaves beneath her feet distracted Toph from any comment. Kneeling down and placing a hand on the uncovered ground, Toph found what she was looking for. "There's a trap up ahead covered by leaves. Not very smart if you ask me. The leaves haven't even started to drop yet."

"It's not meant for us," Zuko informed her absently, stepping cautiously forward.

Bending down so that one of his hands was also supporting his weight, Zuko took a closer look at it. "Must be something worth catching in this forest, but that doesn't make sense..." he trailed off.

Toph folded her hands over her chest, wondering when Zuko started reminding her of Sokka minus the good humor. "Why do you say that? Are there tracks or something?"

"Huh?" Zuko questioned, turning towards her. He seemed to understand what she was asking a moment later, though. "No, I can only track people… or Appa." He added awkwardly as if he expected her to bury him for that comment. The pause lasted a bit longer than it should have, but Toph waited patiently for him to continue. "What I mean is that this island is one of the best places for farming in the Fire Nation: meat, livestock, vegetables, wheat, herbs… the soil is some of the best of any island. I'm not an expert trapper, but I can tell it was set by someone desperate for food, especially because I don't remember there being very many wild animals here," Zuko concluded, standing up again.

Toph and Zuko each walked opposite ways around the trap, meeting again once they were clear of it. A small amount of drizzle began pattering against the leaves of the trees above them and dripping on the two travelers. Toph scrunched up her face in annoyance before pulling her hood over her head and walking on the dusty ground that was quickly turning to mud as more and more drops made their way down. Mud found its way under her sole-less shoes, squelching between her toes as she walked further.

Time seemed to pass quickly before they reached the edge of the village.

"Now don't forget we're colonials, Lee and Mai, who are travelling to Capitol City. Don't talk to anyone unless they ask you a question."

Toph brushed off his concerns with a shrug of her shoulders and stepped towards what she assumed was the village market. Zuko followed a step behind her, swords at his side concealed in his cloak.

People jostled and fought their ways to the best deals at the fronts of shop stalls. Zuko kept a hand on Toph's arm and Toph discretely alerted him to any pickpockets trying to steal from the Blind Bandit and the Blue Spirit. Fresh meat and fish overwhelmed the smell of the damp air around them, occasionally side-lined by the sporadic stalls selling herbs or perfumes and soaps.

Eventually they found the shop they were looking for – a more permanent wooden building on stilts behind the market stalls. Toph stepped onto wood with unsteady feet and loosely held onto Zuko's hand in order to let him guide her. While she hated having to rely on other people, sometimes playing the part of 'helpless little blind girl' could be a good strategy to get what they wanted.

"Hello?" She called out in a shaky voice as Zuko walked up the last step to move close to her.

"Hello there!" A cheerful and surprisingly young voice answered from the other side of the room.

Toph heard the clinking of glasses and the bang of wood on uncared for metal hinges. Shoes scraped on the ground as the woman walked towards them, stopping in front of them.

"Is there something I can help you with?" She asked in a friendly voice, aimed towards Zuko.

Toph tried not to make a face at being ignored, despite being the first to speak out. Just because she was blind, people automatically assumed her ears must not work either. In fact, Toph knew her hearing was second to none. Toph felt Zuko shift uncomfortably at the woman's attention before he replied.

"We're just travelling through town, but some of our friends are sick. They've got Fire Fever. We were wondering if you had any treatment here?"

As Zuko continued to speak, the woman walked back behind the counter and started to pull out different jars. Toph heard each clink as she shifted jars around, opening some and replacing others. With a small tug on her hand, Zuko pulled Toph towards the back of the small shop. Toph trusted Zuko, but it hardly stopped her from sliding her feet cautiously along the ground and hoping there were not any nails sticking out.

"Ah, here we go," the young woman exclaimed with excitement when she finally found what she was looking for. "We're a bit low on medical supplies, but I should have enough. How many are infected?"

"There are four kids between our ages," Zuko replied.

The girl let out a low whistle. "Right, then." Something crinkled into Zuko's palm. "Boil these with water and make them each drink one. It doesn't taste nice, so you may have to force it down." She paused for a beat. "Or you can try sweetening it with honey, but it doesn't help much."

"Thank you."

Zuko paid the girl and turned away from her. He was about to lead Toph out when she felt the herbalist grab Zuko's shoulder, pulling him away from her and whispering something she couldn't hear. Toph frowned in the girl's general direction and yanked Zuko along behind her. He stumbled, but recovered quickly.

"I don't like her," Toph commented when they were a little further away from the shop, walking back through the market and back on solid ground.

"What was wrong with her?" Zuko asked, genuinely confused.

Toph turned her head away in embarrassment. "She was making moves on you."

"Huh?" was Zuko's only reply for a few paces. "I don't think she was," he said, seeming to know something. "Besides, as soon as she saw my face she would have found an excuse to be busy."

Toph remembered Sokka once describing Zuko's scar and wondered if it was really as bad as people seemed to make it out to be. Toph extended her earthbending towards the various stalls and opened her nostrils to the numerous smells.

"Hey Sunshine." She felt Zuko turn to look at her. "Since you and Meathead didn't get any edible meat on your last 'hunting trip,'" she said the last part with obvious sarcasm, "and Sugar Queen's probably gonna be out for the next few days, how about we bring back some _real_ food?"

"Well…" Zuko hesitated.

"It'll probably get you points with Katara," she sang temptingly.

"She'll probably accuse me of poisoning everyone through the food," Zuko mumbled, but loud enough that Toph just caught it. Nevertheless, he relented and they were soon each carrying a full bag of food out of the market.

No sooner had they gotten past the last stall did the town's warning bell start chiming. Zuko grabbed Toph's hand and yanked her into a dark alley, taking out the packets of herbs and pressing them into her hands. "You remember what she told us?" Toph nodded, realizing this was not the time for argument. "Get these to Haru and fly out towards the Earth Kingdom before going back to the rest of the group. The last thing we need is for them to find Aang and the others when we're weak."

"What about you?" Toph asked with a hint of fear, though she would never admit it to him or anyone else.

"I'll cover for you," he said in a tone that left no argument. Zuko placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and turned out of the alley, throwing back his hood as he left.

Tucking the herbs into her shirt pocket, Toph picked up the bags of food and earthbent a tunnel out of the town and towards Appa as fast as she could go.

* * *

Zuko threw back his hood, fire ready to call into his right palm as the guards neared. However, Zuko was surprised when they dashed past him as if he did not even exist. Still confused, he turned to look at the stall owners and their families frantically packing their belongings away. No one seemed to recognize the banished prince of the Fire Nation or to consider him a threat.

Pebbles on the ground began to shake and Zuko turned in the direction the guards had run. He tensed, ducking back into the alley as two komodo-rhinos came charging down the street, their riders masked almost completely in red and black. The width of the street was barely enough for them to pass, so they crashed through the market, destroying makeshift stalls in a matter of seconds, not even bothering to inspect the damage done and whooping loudly, firing random blasts of flames into the air and towards houses.

Less than half a dozen guards moved in after the riders, ready to defend the town, but their helmets prevented them from noticing that another rider was coming from behind. Cursing himself for what he was about to do, Zuko pulled over his hood once more and rushed straight at the third rider.

"Move!"

The guards barely had enough time to jump out of the way before Zuko sent a powerful blast of fire at the feet of the komodo-rhino. Despite their military training, even komodo-rhinos did not like strong fire being aimed at their feet, and it reared up in response, almost toppling down onto his rider who rolled out of the way just in time not to be crushed under its weight. Its tail lashed out and struck an already damaged wooden stall, shattering it to pieces. The beast let out a bellow in surprise and panic.

However, the komodo-rhino was quick to recover and Zuko darted over and jumped up from the side, using the now empty reigns and thick skin to swing himself over and into the saddle. Old military training quickly took over and Zuko had the beast under control and charging after the other two bandits. Stampeding past the damaged stalls, Zuko realized the two riders had stopped outside the herbalist's shop.

As they came into view more clearly, he saw one of the riders dragging out the herbalist, who was struggling to pull away. Zuko's rhino let out an intimidating roar and the rider holding the herbalist barely had enough time to push her away and mount his own rhino before Zuko smashed into them. A tail flew out and took off the side of a building and Zuko grit his teeth at the damage caused.

Thinking quickly, Zuko urged his beast past the other two riders and into a more open square in the center of the town. Glancing behind himself to make sure the two were following him, Zuko barely had enough time to direct his ride's tail up to dissipate a fire blast aimed straight for his head. Bringing the komodo-rhino around Zuko stared down his two opponents.

"Who do you think you are," one of the riders shouted in question as guards warily lined up around parts of the square, keeping back curious onlookers.

"I could ask you the same question," Zuko replied defiantly.

The riders shared a look before turning back to face him. Finally, the second one, who was slightly closer to him, spoke. "Some people have been a bit behind on their defense fees and we're here to remind them why they should keep paying."

"You're thugs."

"Call us what you like, kid, but the town's guards can't stop us, so what makes you think that you can?"

The rain began to beat down harder, thundering off tiled roofs and splashing into quickly forming puddles. Zuko tightened his reins and kicked his beast hard enough to send it charging towards them. Fire laced around one arm of each of the masked riders as they separated and urged their beasts into a canter. Zuko drew out both his swords, using the stirrups to direct the komodo-rhino around. He had almost forgotten how slow they were compared to the Earth Kingdom's ostrich-horses.

Coming around he was suddenly surprised to only see one fire ahead of him. Turning to his left, Zuko barely had enough time to register the fire blast coming towards his blind side. Water and mud soaked into his clothes as he fell back into a puddle, but had little time to curse his luck as he barely rolled away, dodging another fire blast. Rolling onto his feet, Zuko used his swords and now-soaked cloak to deflect the blasts coming towards him. The rain continued to pound down and the fire made it difficult to look at anything else, meaning Zuko had no idea what they were planning and was just reacting blindly to the blasts coming towards him.

Thundering clawed feet alerted Zuko just in time to the komodo-rhino approaching quickly. Sending a powerful bloom of fire towards the ground, he hoped to stop the beast in its tracks. However, unlike last time this rider stayed on, directing the beast to land its front feet on Zuko. Unable to move away in time, Zuko pulled his swords up automatically in defense, knowing the komodo-rhino would crush them in seconds before it finished him.

Suddenly, Zuko felt the ground give out from under him like the falling sensation people sometimes get when they are dreaming. There were a few moments of stomach-dropping free-fall before Zuko crashed against a much firmer and dryer layer of earth. Clutching his swords in a white-knuckled grip Zuko attempted to regain his bearings in the darkness. The soft scrape of skin on rock barely reached Zuko's ears, but it was enough to pinpoint the other person. Dropping his swords and lighting one of his fists on fire he was about to a burst of flame when a familiar voice cut him off.

"Woah, watch it! Don't you dare burn my feet again, Sunshine," Toph shouted.

Lowering his fist, but keeping the flame going, Zuko relaxed his stance. "Toph," he breathed in relief. "I thought I told you to find Haru."

Toph glared at him, arms crossed over her chest. "Hey, I'm blind, not deaf. I gave Haru the medicine and instructions and told him to head back to Aang and the others. No way am I leaving you to deal with these guys on your own."

Zuko smiled, comparing this to the time he saved Lee from those corrupt Earth Kingdom guards. It was a nice change having someone he could rely on. As he nodded to her with renewed determination, a plan began to form.

* * *

"So much for your savior!" taunted the lead rider, setting fire to one of the opposite buildings.

His companion who had lost his komodo-rhino had run away, but the two remaining slowly circled their beasts around the center, mocking the villagers. Oka stood in the rain watching them gloat with fists clenched at her sides, glaring at them defiantly despite her helplessness.

Finally, the one who had spoken walked his beast over to her, "Now, now Oka don't give me that expression. You're behind on your payments, so anything that happens to you is your own fault," he said matter-of-factly, juggling a ball of fire in his hand lazily.

He pulled his arm back to throw the fire towards a nearby building when suddenly he was swallowed up by a black cloak and the next thing Oka knew, he was on the ground with a sword pressed on his neck and the cloaked stranger from before on top of him.

"Call off your friend and I'll let you go," the stranger threatened, pressing the sword closer to the man's windpipe.

The other rider ignored the warning and urged his beast toward the stranger. Oka gave a cry of warning to the cloaked man, but it was unnecessary. The rider did not get very far, his komodo-rhino appearing to trip on air to come crashing down on its side. Oka glanced around at the villagers who were watching the scene unfold with stunned awe, as if all their prayers had finally been answered. She could not help but feel satisfaction at these brutes finally getting what they deserved.

The hooded stranger stood up gracefully, bringing the threatening sword away from the leader enough that he could move, but not so much that he could attack without hurting himself. The leader moved away and stood up, the sword remaining pointed at his throat.

"Leave." A flash of lightening came out of nowhere, serving to highlight the stranger's threat.

The two remaining masked men stepped away and mounted their beasts, turning them around to ride defiantly out of the village, but a victory was a victory. Oka let out a sigh of relief, sinking against the shop she had been protecting with a hand over her belly.

"Oka, are you alright?" One of the female guards, who appeared to be uninjured, rushed over to her and helped her back inside her shop.

"Bring any of the injured inside and I'll see what I can do," Oka called out behind her.

She sent one more glance at the hooded man before being helped back to her shop.

* * *

Zuko looked over to see Toph walking towards him. Rain soaked her hair, dripping off tips and running down her skin. She gave him a smile and then turned in the direction of the herbalist with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"She's pregnant."

Zuko looked down at Toph in surprise, suddenly remembering she would not have been able to notice that earlier due to the wooden floor of the shop. He gave a nod of confirmation and began looking around for a place to take shelter.

"You two," a guard called out, motioning towards Toph and Zuko, "come with us!"

Zuko glanced nervously at Toph, who continued to stare sightlessly ahead. She gave a small nod and Zuko took that as a signal to follow the tall female guard, though at a slower pace, staying out of the way, but close enough they would not be accused of attempting to run. Both remained vigilant, not knowing if one of them might suddenly be recognized by one of the villagers.

They were led out of the rain into the herbalist's shop and through a back door into what Zuko could only assume was the woman's house. Initially keeping a hand on Toph to steer her out of danger if necessary (which she shrugged off quickly), Zuko followed the tall guard into what looked like it was normally supposed to be a dining room. At this time there were people lying on cushions with minor burns, cuts and bruises. Some were bandaged and treated already, while another one or two were still waiting to be seen to.

The herbalist walked up to them, rubbing her hands with a cloth before tucking it in the apron she had put on. She looked weary from rushing around, but relieved.

"Thank you for helping us," she directed towards Zuko. "I suppose you'll need to get back to your friends."

"Actually," Toph replied, directing the woman's attention to her, "we gave the medicine to a friend who's taking it to them. They're camped about a day away because we were worried about spreading infection."

The herbalist nodded at Toph's answer, seemingly pleased with the turn of events. Suddenly she stopped. "Of course, where are my manners? My name is Oka." She introduced herself with a polite bow.

"My name is Lee," Zuko introduced himself, returning the Fire Nation bow before gesturing to Toph. "And this is Mai."

"It's an honor to meet both of you," replied Oka. "It's a bit late to be travelling. Would you like to stay with me for the night? I have a spare room since my father passed and I'm afraid the inn is the only other place that offers beds for the night."

Zuko felt a tug on his shoulder and bent down to let Toph whisper in his ear. "I told Haru to come back in a few days."

Zuko nodded as he stood up straight, "We told our friends to catch up with us when they were well. Would we be able to stay for a few days? We have money," he added, pulling out a pouch of coins.

By now many of the injured were being led out of the house, though one or two of the guards seemed to want to speak with Oka. Oka waved them away slightly, mouthing something that probably meant that she would speak to them in a moment.

"After what you did for our village, I couldn't ask you to pay." Despite her sincerity, she seemed a bit reluctant to turn it down.

"Look," Toph said practically, ever the merchant's daughter, "Lee and I need a place to stay and hot meals would be missed, since he's a terrible cook. So how about we pay for a room and meals?"

"If it's not too much trouble," Zuko added quickly, hoping Toph's bluntness did not come across as too rude.

Oka gave him a beautiful smile in return and glanced back to the guards. "All right then. If you don't mind waiting in the kitchen I'll just be a moment."

Toph and Zuko nodded and left her to talk privately with the other villagers and found their way into the kitchen. At the other end of the room, the door opened up to a porch at the front with steps leading to a small courtyard with a shed at the back. The rain was still pounding off the rooftops and the drumming made its way indoors even though everything stayed dry.

Zuko removed his soaking cloak as Toph removed hers and handed it to him. Finding a convenient spot to dry, he hung them up out of the way, where a puddle began to form underneath. Toph stood in the middle of the room, seemingly not knowing what to do with herself.

"So what now?" she asked, shrugging her shoulders.

Zuko could not think of any sort of reply, but he was saved from having to think about it when Oka walked past them briskly. "Sorry for all the rushing about," she called out over her shoulder, "my father was the village doctor, but he died recently. I've been swamped with patients without a clear idea of how to help most of them." Oka stepped back inside with a full bucket of water in her arms. "He taught me a bit, but all of his apprentices have left to serve over in the colonies where the soldiers desperately need them."

With a long sigh, she set down the bucket on one of the table tops and pulled out some spark rocks. She considered them for a moment before turning towards Zuko. "You don't mind starting a fire for me do you, Lee?"

Zuko opened up the stove and checked the wood levels before sending a quick burst of flame inside and closing the door again once they had taken to the wood. Oka waited patiently and smiled when she watched how easily it caught and spread. She then shooed the two towards the hallway.

"Dinner should be ready in a few moments. I'm having other guests over, so you should go to meet them first."

"Do you need any help?" Zuko asked, calling back to her.

"He's a lousy cook." Toph's reminder came before Oka could reply and Zuko shot a look at Toph.

Oka laughed, shaking her head. "I had just finished before those brutes turned up, so I just need to heat it. Dinner will be out soon."

Just then, an old woman pushed past Zuko and Toph from the dining room. "You two go and sit down like Oka said. I'll be helping her."

Zuko sat down quietly next to Toph as he looked around the now almost-empty dining room. The only people remaining were a man seated opposite him who seemed to be in his early thirties and had already taken his chair before they had arrived, and a woman, who seemed to be one of the village guards, seated next to him and opposite Toph.

Everyone turned when Oka finally walked in carrying a large pot, followed by the old woman with a plate of bread. The two women sat opposite each other – the old woman between Toph and the guard, and Oka between Zuko and the other man. The food was set down and the old woman began to speak in a gruff, no-nonsense tone.

"It's so nice to see so many people around this table. I just wish it was under better circumstances."

The others murmured their agreement as Oka carefully dished out the food. Zuko took a bite and smiled, glad to have some spicy food rather than the much blander food of the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom. Next to him, Toph started coughing and Zuko pushed the cup of water into her hand, which she gratefully gulped down. By now, all the people at the table were staring at her strangely and Zuko racked his brains for a plausible excuse.

"Are you alright, Mai?"

Toph coughed a few more times while attempting to nod. "Yeah, sorry about that. We lived on the edge of the colonies, so I didn't grow up on spicy food."

"I can try making you something else," Oka offered kindly.

"Nah, don't worry about it." Toph brushed it off. "It just surprised me is all. Though," she added after a moment's hesitation, "I wouldn't say no to more water."

The old woman gave a bark of laughter. "Now that's the spirit! A girl after my own heart."

Oka stood to get a pitcher of water and the others joined in the laughter, allowing Zuko to let out a breath of relief at how easily Toph had covered herself. Hopefully, he thought, they would be able to get through the meal without giving themselves away.

"So," the man started with a neutral tone, "you're from the colonies?"

Zuko chewed the last of his food, nodding. "My father is in Capitol City, so we're travelling there to meet him."

"You kids be careful," warned the guard, "I've heard the Avatar is back and in the Fire Nation."

Zuko tried not to look nervous. "Has any word reached here from the Capitol about his location?"

The three shook their heads. "We've only heard about the failed invasion and that the Fire Lord's son has turned traitor. What else would you expect from a coward?" the old woman spat.

Zuko clenched his fist under the table until his fists shook. A small comforting hand on top of his gave a strong squeeze and he relaxed slightly, squeezing her hand between his thumb and the rest of his hand in thanks.

"Wait, I thought he had recently returned a hero?" Toph asked, seeming genuinely confused and Zuko silently praised her for her acting abilities, since he certainly could not think clearly enough to make conversation.

"That's what we all thought too. The hero who had killed the Avatar, but in reality he had ridden on his sister's glory and hadn't even succeeded in killing the greatest threat to the Fire Nation, instead covering it up and making his father and sister clean up his mess.

"A coward until the end. You know he even refused to fight his own father in an Agni Kai after he had accepted the duel?" The old woman continued. "And now he's helping the Avatar master firebending to bring down his own father and take the throne for himself."

"All right, that's enough Mei Ling." Oka tried to placate the old woman as she walked in with more water. "We need to concentrate on the threat to our village."

"A threat to the Fire Nation _is_ a threat to the village." Mei Ling countered.

Zuko caught the guard rolling her eyes. "While I understand what you mean, Mei Ling, we need to stop the current threat."

"Who are they anyway?" asked Zuko, feeling somewhat glad he was no longer the topic of conversation.

"A bunch of rich nobles who have too much time on their hands, so they come around villages like ours and make our lives worse than Koh's captured faces," the man across from Zuko answered. "I assume you saw the big house on the hill when you arrived?"

Zuko nodded, remembering it from when Appa was flying over. "I think I caught a glimpse."

The man nodded, "It belongs to one of the Fire Lord's top generals. Strong military man; but not around much. His son, on the other hand, couldn't understand hard work if it hit him in the face. He likes to get his own way and if you try to stop him then he'll make your life miserable."

Out of the corner of his eye, Zuko watched Oka look away from the table in shame. Suddenly the pieces clicked together.

"He's the father of your child," he almost whispered, but everyone seemed to hear him except Mei Ling.

Oka put a hand on her swelling belly and looked at him with sad eyes. "Don't get the wrong idea. There was a time when we were in love with each other and he cared about me, but the way he spends money…" she trailed off, shaking her head. "He would need to marry a wealthy woman to sustain his habits, not a poor herbalist."

"He's also the ringleader of that little group that attacked tonight, although he wasn't with them this time," the man across from Zuko added.

Zuko nodded, accepting the information. "There was something else I was wondering: most of your villagers seem to be very young or very old. Where is the rest of the village?"

"They're off fighting in the Earth Kingdom," explained the guard. "I'm normally a teacher at the local school, but I'll don the guard's uniform when we're needed. Then there are a few like Yori here," she gestured towards the man sitting next to her, "who are retired from the services."

"We're an honorable village of loyal Fire Nation citizens. We like to send everyone we can to help in the efforts of civilizing the Earth Kingdom," Mei Ling continued proudly.

"But it does leave us somewhat vulnerable," concluded Oka and each looked down in shame.

"So why'd you retire?" asked Toph, and Zuko had to stop himself from smacking his head in humiliation at her bluntness.

Obviously seeing Zuko's exasperation, Yori laughed off his concern. "I kinda ran into a little trouble," he explained, lifting up his pant leg and revealing a wooden replacement for his leg, which had been severed just below the knee, "Earth Kingdom soldiers buried it when we clashed in battle. They were an elite squad and we were new recruits." Zuko's stomach dropped. "I decided to cut my losses and sever it before they could crush the rest of me.

"Luckily some of my comrades stayed to help me and our division was saved by another more experienced firebending squad, who were able to save what little there was left of us."

"How many did you lose?" Zuko asked, the white-knuckled grip on the material of his pants hidden under the table. This time he practically smacked away Toph's comforting hand.

Either Yori did not notice Zuko's intense stare or he ignored it. "We were a full division, well over three thousand men, but when the dust finally cleared there were only a dozen of us still alive. Another one died of his wounds a few days later. Most of us retired, unable to keep away the nightmares that we witnessed on that battlefield, even those who did come out unscathed physically."

"I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about," he reassured Zuko, obviously not understanding why the boy across from him looked so guilt-stricken. "Commanders obviously had no idea who we were dealing with. We were just lucky that that other division was nearby to come around and punish those dirt eaters for what they did to us."

"The 41st division suffered such a large number of fatalities. There were several dozen just from our village," Mei Ling stated. "Only two of our boys actually came back, though Yori's the only one who speaks of it."

"We used to have good, professional doctors when my father was still alive, but they've all gone to work in the Earth Kingdom and I was never a very good student," Oka admitted.

"So, you see what kind of situation we're in," concluded Yori.

"What can we do to help?" Zuko asked with fiery determination in his eyes.

"You look like you've had combat experience," Mei Ling observed, placing her chopsticks on her bowl and giving him a hard stare. "Yori and I can only teach so much, but maybe you can train some of the younger ones to defend themselves."

"Sure," Toph agreed and all of them looked at her in disbelief. "Lee's an ok firebender, so he might be able to teach you guys a thing or two."

"Your faith in me is heartening, Mai."

Toph cackled maniacally before eating a few more bites of her food and washing the spice down with rice and water. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't screw up."

Yori laughed, getting the joke almost instantly. "Sounds like a deal." He raised his glass and turned to Oka. "You gonna be able to handle these two by yourself for one night?"

She smiled to humor him, also raising her glass in a toast. "I think I can manage."

* * *

"I'm sorry I only have one bed. Will you be all right like this?" Oka asked, gesturing to the blankets on the wooden floor.

"This is a lot better than what we've been sleeping on for a while." Toph replied, bouncing on her seat at the edge of the bed and grinning.

Zuko also nodded and Oka gave them a smile. "All right then; breakfast is at sun up so make sure you're awake by then."

She gave them a cheerful wave, which Zuko returned more awkwardly before shutting the door softly. He heard Toph sigh followed by a soft thump as she threw herself back onto the bed. "I guess I should've said _I've_ been sleeping on. After all, you've been getting pampered at the Palace all summer while _we_'ve been roughing it."

"Don't pretend that you don't enjoy sleeping in the dirt," Zuko shot back, but without any real malice.

Toph grinned, tipping her head towards the sound of his voice. "So, are we gonna arm wrestle for the bed? I'd suggest a bending battle, but I don't think that would go over too well with the locals."

"You're welcome to have it," Zuko offered turning from her again and rearranging the various blankets they had been given into a semi-comfortable mattress to sleep on. "Like you said, I haven't been sleeping rough for as long."

Toph rolled over, resting her chin on her hands and pouting. "You're no fun."

There were a few more moments of peace when Zuko laid out his bed on the floor and Toph lay quietly, however, he should have known the silence would not last very long.

"So," Toph began casually, setting off all sorts of warnings in Zuko's mind, "who's Mai?"

Zuko felt his heart plummet and was very glad Toph could not read him with her earthbending at that moment, but he turned to face her nonetheless. "Mai was one of my sister's friends from school. We started dating when I returned to the Fire Nation…"

"Wait, she was one of the girls chasing us, right? She wasn't the perky one, was she?" Toph asked, scrunching up her nose in distaste.

"_What_?" Zuko exclaimed, shuddering at the thought of dating Ty Lee – not that he disliked her, but she flirted with everyone. He was bad enough around Mai's admirers. "No! That's Ty Lee. Mai's the projectile expert."

"Oh, _her_. Sorry, I'd forgotten that was her name," she stated, sounding as far from apologetic as possible.

Zuko could only glare at how blasé she was being with their names, though he guessed she had no reason to ever memorize the names of Azula's cohorts. Silence continued and Zuko shifted nervously, trying to think of a way of starting casual conversation, but fortunately – or unfortunately – Toph saved him from needing to.

"Huh, so you go for the dark mysterious types then?"

Zuko could not help the snort that escaped. "She's hardly mysterious. We've known each other since we were kids."

"Childhood sweetheart then?"

Zuko blushed; glad Toph would not notice it. "I think I was hers, but I didn't have much interest in girls back then."

"Sure," she drawled, making it sound as if she did not really believe him, but before Zuko could even think about feeling indignant she went brutally on. "So what's with the guilt?"

All coherent thoughts left Zuko and he looked towards the floor.

"You're feeling guilty right now, aren't you?"

Zuko sighed, attempting to gather his thoughts. "When I decided to confront my father and teach Aang firebending I knew I couldn't take her along. I couldn't force her to choose between me and her family, so I left her a letter and went after you."

Toph visibly winced, "You wrote her a letter? Wow, way to rip her heart out."

Zuko cringed, "I know! I know it was stupid, but I couldn't risk her stopping me." The excuse just seemed so feeble now, especially after everything she had done for him at the Boiling Rock.

"Okay so you were a bit of a jerk, but at least she's safe, right?"

"That's the problem! When Sokka and I went to the Boiling Rock she was there. We talked a bit and then I locked her in the interrogation room."

"Ouch. So how'd she find you?"

"Her uncle is the warden to the Boiling Rock. The plan was for Sokka, Hakoda, Suki, Chit Sang and I to get away on the gondola that went over the boiling lake surrounding the prison, but then my sister showed up. The guards had us trapped and were about to cut the line when Mai suddenly burst out of nowhere and which bought enough time for us to get to the other side."

Zuko walked over and sat down on the bed next to Toph. "She disobeyed my sister and I have no idea why. I did all those horrible things to her and she still fought to protect me." Zuko's fists clenched at his sides. "I couldn't even go back for her! My girlfriend was in danger and I had to walk away. For all I know my last action towards her was locking her in a prison cell."

"Are you done angsting yet?"

Zuko glared down at her, ready to shout at her for being so callous when he saw her expression of determination.

"Maybe you never fought against Mai, but I did! She's pretty tough when it counts and I bet if anyone can give Azula a run for her money it's her. Besides, I can't imagine the twisty girl standing by while her friend is killed, so I bet when we defeat the Fire Lord we'll be able to find your girlfriend too. So stop your moping and let's concentrate on kicking your dad's butt!"

Zuko allowed a tentative smile to creep onto his face, feeling slightly better. "Thanks, Toph. I… uh… sorry for…"

Toph pushed him off the bed and pulled off her shoes. "Just let me get some sleep," she said before lying down. "I'll talk to you in the morning. Wake me up for breakfast if I'm not already up."

Zuko smiled up at her from his awkward position on the floor, righting himself slowly. "I will."

* * *

**Please review. I would love to hear about which parts you liked best or least and anything that stood out - good or bad. **


	3. The General

_****_**Thank you for the wonderful feedback. I've read and taken in each of your comments, though I'm afraid I can't fulfil all of the requests. Thus, this will remain gen since there's not enough time to develop a believable relationship (despite my love of Toko), sorry. **

**I'm not entirely satisfied with the ending scene, but I could probably spend another week on it and still not improve anything, so here's the next part.  
**

* * *

_**The Herbalist Part III - The General  
**_

Zuko awoke the next morning in partial darkness to Toph's not-so-quiet snores. Lighting a flame in his palm as he stood up, Zuko looked down to see her sprawled out across the bed, sheets tangled between her legs. He walked barefooted and silent over to the window and pulled back the curtain to see the glow on the horizon that indicated the sun was just below the mountains.

Deciding to leave Toph to sleep for a while longer, Zuko smothered the flame, put on his boots and walked carefully down the stairs. Upon reaching the bottom, he glanced into the kitchen to see Oka struggling with a particularly large sack. Hastening over, Zuko grabbed it from underneath, giving Oka a shock and causing her to drop the sack completely into Zuko's arms.

Zuko pulled the sack up to get a better grip on it and looked around at her. "Where would you like this?"

She opened and closed her mouth a few times silently before seeming to finally register his question, "Oh! Umm… this way," she replied pointing outdoors. "It's to feed the chicken-pigs in the back."

Oka stepped outside, followed by Zuko just as the sun was peaking over the horizon, the rays of light caught in the thin remnants of mist that was quickly fading away. Oka paused, lifting her head up to the sun, before continuing again, directing Zuko towards the hut. She pulled back the door, letting the chicken-pigs waddle out into the courtyard, squealing and clucking as they looked around for food. She drew out a pan and gestured for Zuko to put the bag on the ground; then she took a large scoop out with both her hands and put it in the pan, followed by three more to fill it to the top.

"Would you mind taking that back inside? I don't want them to eat more than they should."

Zuko complied and came out a little later to find Oka missing. Glancing around with a puzzled frown, Zuko finally heard a noise from the shed and in the next instant Oka walked out with a basket of eggs under one arm. Upon noticing his return, she gave him a brilliant smile and the two walked back inside.

Oka heaved up the basket onto one of the counters with a sigh before walking over to the stove. "I know I should probably get some help around here, what with looking after the animals and running the shop, but I just don't have enough money to employ anyone else."

She paused then and Zuko watched her intently, somewhat knowing what was coming. "Maybe," she asked, hesitating, "instead of going to your father to work you could stay here." She turned and offered him a smile that reminded Zuko so much of Jin's kindness.

"I'm sorry, but I can't," he replied with a twinge of regret, more for leaving her alone than any desire to stay.

Once again guilt welled up when Oka mirrored Jin's brave smile despite her disappointment. However, Zuko tightened his resolve. It would be better to set up clear boundaries now than wait too late and shatter any hopes she might have.

"Would you like any help right now?" Zuko offered awkwardly.

Oka recovered quickly, grinning at him as she walked over to the eggs and picked a couple out. "No that's all right. By the way, I hope you two like eggs and rice for breakfast."

Suddenly there was a crash, almost causing Oka to drop one of the eggs. While she stayed near the stove, Zuko ran into the hallway to find Toph on the floor, resting her head on one of the stairs with a sour look on her face.

"I _really_ don't like wood."

Zuko smiled at her sympathetically, making sure his boots echoed on the floor to let her know where he was. When he was next to her, he grabbed one of her hands and helped her to stand up. Toph used her free hand to rub her back and glare towards the cause of her mishap.

"Are you all right?" came Oka's anxious question from the kitchen.

"Yeah," Toph shouted back in response.

Zuko, moving to Toph's side so that he was able to guide her by one of her elbows, led her into the kitchen, though making sure to keep her well away from the stove. "Toph just missed one of the stairs," he explained, ignoring the dirty look Toph sent back at him.

Oka giggled at Toph's expression. "You're hungry, right? How many eggs would you like?"

"Starving," Toph replied. "Got enough for a small army?"

Oka covered her mouth to hide her giggles when Zuko held up two fingers and mouthed each. However, Toph seemed to catch on and elbowed the boy in the gut, causing him to grunt and double over slightly in pain.

"I can feel you doing something, _Lee_."

Zuko held up his hands in a placating gesture, that was most-likely lost on Toph. "How about we have breakfast outside? That is, if it's not too much trouble," he added, directing the question to Oka.

Toph instantly seemed to brighten at the thought of being able to 'see' again and Oka gave a verbal consent, still chuckling at their antics. Letting out a whoop of joy, Toph allowed herself to be led outside by Zuko. However, as soon as they were out of sight of Oka and onto the ground, Toph bent up a rock in front of Zuko's foot, making him fall flat on his face.

Toph cackled as Zuko shot her an annoyed frown while he stood up. Glancing inside to check Oka was still preoccupied with breakfast he sat down on the wooden porch behind Toph, who was lying happily on the ground.

"So do you think Haru and Appa made it back unhurt?" he whispered.

"Relax, Princess," Toph replied, refusing to whisper like Zuko. "I told them to come back in a couple of days when things cooled off."

Zuko relaxed marginally and stood up to walk back inside the kitchen, aiming his next question towards Oka. "What would you like me to take out?"

"There are some scrambled eggs in that bowl there," she said pointing to a covered plate that a small amount of steam was escaping from. "Could you also take your bowl out? I'll bring the rest with me," she added, rummaging through cupboards.

Zuko nodded, carrying each outside and setting them down on the wooden porch. Toph walked over and inhaled deeply. "It smells great!"

"Hopefully it tastes just as good," Oka laughed. "And don't worry I haven't put any spices on yours," she said as she set down a separate bowl with eggs in a red sauce in front of Toph.

Soon laughter and animated conversations between the two females filled the courtyard along with the sounds of chicken-pigs poking around and clucking. Zuko just sat back and listened to the girls talk, enjoying the sun and the warm weather.

The happy chatter was cut short when there was a bang from the shop, followed by a loud call for Oka. Zuko glanced out of the corner of his eye at Oka, whose eyes had widened with obvious fear. The young woman's chopsticks fell into her bowl and tipped onto the ground with a loud clatter and she attempted to rush forward into the shop, however, she was stopped by a tall, well-muscled man standing in the doorway.

Zuko stood up and Toph fell into a subtle earthbending stance, despite the fact that the man was still standing on the wood. Zuko's hands tightened into fists at his sides as the taller man's gaze swept lazily from him towards Toph before finishing on Oka, a superior smirk never leaving his face. He was a good head or so taller than Zuko and wore a shirt that was sleeveless and open enough that it left little to the imagination – showing off well-toned abs. Zuko suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, knowing that the man's physic was mostly show and probably made him a slow fighter.

Boots echoed on wood as the man walked up to Zuko, standing inches from his chest and forcing Zuko to look up in order to keep eye contact. After a few tense moments of staring each other down, the man sneered and turned his head to look at Oka.

"Going for little boys now, are we Oka?" His eyes travelled down to her swollen belly. "I guess you're quite a catch for someone like him."

"Get out, Shan," Oka ordered, attempting to sound intimidating, but failing miserably.

Shan laughed, sauntering over to Oka and placing a hand either side of her head onto the wood she was leaning back on. "Come on, Oka. When it's born, I can take that child off your hands and you can go off with Scarface over here and continue your whoring as if nothing ever happened."

Oka was on the verge of tears, a furious expression on her face while Shan laughed. Suddenly a prick across his throat made him stop and a glance towards the garden, confirming a pearl dagger poised at his throat, threatening to cut through his windpipe.

"I believe she told you to leave," Zuko grit out, his expression stony except for the intense fire burning in his eyes.

"Do you know who I am?" Shan recovered after a few moments of shocked silence, obviously thinking Zuko had no idea how to use the tiny weapon. "I'm the son of one of Fire Lord Ozai's most trusted generals."

Shan turned his gaze back to Oka, ignoring the blade at his throat. "If you don't give me that kid when it's born I'll come for it myself, got it?"

With that said, he stepped away from the three and moved back through the house. Oka collapsed into tears while Zuko and Toph rushed out to the front of the shop. When they reached the dirt road Shan was sauntering down, but upon noticing Oka's two new guests, he turned around with a sneer.

"You don't know when to quit, kid."

"And you know nothing about respect," Zuko riposted, moving into a classic firebending pose.

However, rather than being intimidated, Shan just openly laughed. "You don't stand a chance against a _real_ man. I bet Oka is only taking you in as a charity case."

People from around the village who had heard the commotion watched like hyena-vultures around a dying elephant-deer. Hearing no comeback, Shan turned away with a laugh and took one step before promptly falling flat on his face.

The tension that had existed moments ago suddenly shattered into laughter from the crowd surrounding them. Shan turned to look back at the two strangers with a look of fury, but Zuko merely smirked back, standing up straight and crossing his arms over his chest, knowing the fight was over and making Shan aware of it. Face burning; Shan picked himself up from the ground.

"This village will burn for its defiance." With one last glare aimed at Zuko, Shan turned and walked away briskly, attempting to save face.

"That was needlessly reckless, Toph," Zuko admonished the younger girl in a low voice, keeping his eyes on Shan's retreating figure.

"Quit worrying, Princess, no one saw. Besides, they were all too busy laughing at him to care if a rock suddenly popped up and tripped him," she added with a wicked grin.

Zuko turned away from the crowds and walked back inside the shop. "Looks like we're going to have to prepare for a fight."

Toph shrugged, "Yeah, but to be honest, considering what we did to his pals last night, I think they were going to attack anyway. He probably came here looking for any excuse to start something."

They found Oka on the back porch, staring at nothing or something too far away for Zuko to see. Toph found the wooden door frame and tentatively checked its position before leaning back against it, arms crossed over her chest.

"He seems like a real piece of work."

Oka wiped away the lingering tears and looked up towards the two of them. "What am I going to do?"

Zuko thought back to Aang, Katara and Sokka, who were hopefully now recovering at the Western Air Temple. Aang was supposed to save the world, but this was _his_ nation. How could he even dream of fixing things if he could not even help one small village?

Zuko looked towards where he knew the Fire Nation Capital and his father were with renewed determination. "We'll stop them."

He looked down to see her mouth drop open slightly in surprise. "If they attack tonight then we just have to make sure we're ready for them."

* * *

Toph plodded behind Zuko, arms hanging in front of her in exhaustion. "I don't get it. It rained yesterday; how can it be this hot?"

Zuko, who was completely at ease, slowed down so that he was walking next to her, watching her with concern. "Summers in the Fire Nation are normally warm. Actually it's a bit cooler than what I remember as a kid."

"Oh great! I'll keep that in mind while I slowly cook here. You people could at least wear cooler clothes!" she complained, pulling at the dark red fabric.

Zuko was about to comment that she was starting to sound like Sokka, but she seemed to anticipate this and was doing a very good job of fixing him with a poisonous glare. Feeling slightly more nervous, Zuko was glad when they finally reached the center of the town where several townsfolk, including Yori and Mei Ling, milled around.

Everyone turned to face the two newcomers when Zuko and Toph entered the town square. Zuko stepped into the center and Toph hung back, whispering good luck to him, and then moving to sit on the ground, legs crossed before her and one of her palms flat on the ground, ready to feel for anything that might turn into a danger. Zuko looked at the faces of the very young and the very old, looking to him – a stranger in their eyes – to protect them. Is this what his nation had become? A nation more concerned with foreign conquest than looking after its own people?

He could see their suspicion and felt the nervousness that he had felt when he had first tried to join Aang's group. He took a deep breath and gathered his courage, though once again his carefully planned speech disappeared.

"My name is Lee… from the colonies… in the Earth Kingdom. We were travelling through your village when it was attacked. Since the attack last night was unsuccessful, they'll probably be back tonight. So… we should be able to stop them with a combination of traps and firepower…" Zuko began hesitantly.

"What would a _colonial_," the word was spat out by one of the older men, bent over a cane, eyes narrowed towards the outsider, "know about _our_ village?"

Zuko turned to him, but did not feel the usual indignant anger at the man's comments. He was the Prince of the Fire Nation, no matter what anyone else called him, and he would do everything in his power to make his country a better place. Living in the Earth Kingdom and coming back to the Fire Nation had only strengthened his resolve and loyalty to his country, not his father.

"I know that Fire Lord Ozai put his generals in charge of overseeing not only the war, but their home islands as well," Zuko responded, voice loud enough to carry to the whole crowd. "I also know that you deserve better than to be ransacked by a group of nobles who have no concept of money or hard work."

Murmurs rushed through the crowd like a burst dam and Zuko glanced around himself to see whether he had spoken out of turn. However, instead of unease he saw a few nods of approval and people standing in agreement, ready to do something.

Zuko attempted to contain his shock at the scene before him. He was used to ordering people around, but that had always been as Prince Zuko. Yet here he stood as Lee, a colonial just passing through, and they seemed to be willing to listen.

"But what can we do?" a middle-aged woman asked, holding a small child in her arms. "Our best warriors are fighting in the Earth Kingdom."

"They're a bunch of nobles," Toph spoke up, but everyone seemed to be caught up in the atmosphere that meant they would even listen to a little blind girl. "I bet if we give them a tough time they'll back off."

Zuko nodded towards her, agreeing. "They may be trained, but not for real combat. If we start to attack them in a way they haven't been taught they won't know what to do."

"Right," the home guard leader from before, who had introduced herself as Kiza, stood, looking around her fellow villagers, "we just need to send them a message that they can't just come and raid our town or any others."

Cheers and shouts filled the square and Zuko could not help but try to keep the awe off his face. He had figured that convincing them was going to be the difficult part and yet here they were ready to work together. He felt a nudge to his side and smiled down at Toph.

"Nice job there, Sunshine."

"Now we just have to figure out how to defend the town," Zuko murmured to her before letting out a tired sigh. "I wish Sokka was here."

"Yeah, me too, but I bet we can still do a pretty good job." She waved off his concerns and turned towards a large group, interlinking her fingers and pushing the palms away from her. "I'm gonna go and help dig holes."

"Just don't get caught."

"Relax. I've got this."

Zuko shot her a disapproving look he knew she would never see and turned back towards the group that was forming around Kiza and Yori. Yori sat on the steps of one of the houses, both his legs spread before him, and gave a friendly wave towards Zuko, who returned it nervously.

There were six people, four who looked no older than Zuko, while the other two appeared to be other guards under Kiza. Noticing Yori's attention drawn elsewhere, it was not much longer before all eight firebenders were staring at Zuko in anticipation. Zuko swallowed nervously and looked towards Kiza who sent a reassuring nod back, prompting him to begin

"Alright, so," he began haltingly, "what you need to know about firebending is that the breath is the most important thing…"

"We already know that! We're not beginners," one of the firebenders about Zuko's age piped up. He was followed by nods of agreement.

Zuko glanced nervously away, forgetting everything he was originally going to say.

"So when are you going to teach us how to make a giant fireball or the five-point tiger-dillo roar?" one of the other younger kids asked impatiently.

Those words reminded Zuko of everything he had wanted to teach them. Gathering his courage in a long breath in, he met each of their expectant eyes with his own determination.

"Firebending is power, but it's also life and passion." Zuko looked down to his palm where he lit a fire, remembering the dragons that had made him understand so much about himself. "Kiza, if you would honor me by attacking with your strongest set?"

She raised a questioning brow, but took in a long breath and sent two punches of fire directly towards Zuko that combined as they shot towards him. He automatically crouched down into a defensive stance he had learned in battles with Katara and Aang. As the fireball neared he pushed himself to the side, taking in the fireball around him and condensing it, subtly adding his own fire and sending it back, though towards the ground so as not to hurt anyone. The impact produced a massive bang, causing most of Zuko's students to jump back in shock. Now he had their attention.

"By redirecting an opponent's energy and adding your own power to it you can produce a much stronger attack than anything you might have been able to produce alone." He spoke confidently to the stunned silence around him.

"But our teachers said other bending styles were weak."

"Your teachers don't know everything," Yori replied, but his eyes remained firmly locked with Zuko's as if he was trying to pick Zuko apart.

Zuko had a feeling Yori was figuring something out, but it was more important that they knew how to defend themselves properly than it was for him to keep his identity a secret. Zuko went through the motions of redirecting the fire and everyone reluctantly copied him at first, but when they started to see the power they could achieve with the techniques, they became much more eager students. Zuko tried to keep his attention on them at all times, but Yori's constant stare from his seat on the steps became more and more unnerving as the day progressed.

When lessons finally wound down Zuko walked over to Yori, who offered him a smile and a flask of water in what would have normally been interpreted as a friendly manner; however, Zuko remained wary even as he sat down beside the retired soldier. It was only when the others were finally out of earshot did Yori start to speak.

"You had formal military training, didn't you?" the tone was friendly enough, but Zuko knew his response would be closely scrutinized.

He took a long gulp of water, drawing it out to give himself time to think. "My uncle was in the army. He taught me a few things."

"You must have been a good student," Yori commented, holding out his hand for the flask.

Zuko's face twisted into a grimace before handing it back. "Actually I was a terrible student. He just didn't give up on me."

"Still, some of those techniques weren't standard military, were they?" Yori asked before taking a gulp himself.

"No."

* * *

"How deep is it?" Toph asked innocently, legs swinging as she sat on the edge of their first pit, already knowing the answer.

"About waist height," one of the women digging called back to her.

Toph made it to look as if she was thinking hard and making calculations in her head for a few moments before she spoke. "Ok, that should be enough. The traps Lee saw in the Earth Kingdom weren't that deep."

She stood up and let them cover it in wooden planks that would break under the weight of a komodo-rhino, but not under a few people walking on it. When they finished by covering it in dirt Toph made a subtle gesture with her feet, sinking the hole down to the average height of a man with earthbending. Smirking to herself, Toph waltzed over to the next strategic point.

* * *

Evening came faster than any of them had expected, but everything was finished in time, and various villagers that had volunteered to help (mostly over-exuberant kids between Toph and Zuko's ages) were eagerly anticipating the fight to come. The older members of the village watched with more wariness, wondering what would come of standing up to the nobles' sons and daughters.

Zuko sat on the steps of the herbalist's store, sharpening his dao swords more out of a nervous habit than for an actual purpose while the sun set behind the houses, casting longer and longer shadows. Toph sat on the dirt below him seemingly relaxed, but in reality she was feeling for the vibrations signaling their expected intruders.

Oka stepped out behind them, rubbing her hands nervously on an apron she was wearing. "Do you really think you can stop them?" she asked Zuko uncertainly.

"I've dealt with thugs like these before." And this time he would not have to worry about holding back his firebending, he thought silently, remembering a young boy's hurtful words. "I know _we_ can stop them."

Oka was silent and when Zuko turned his head to look at her she had her arms wrapped around her swollen belly, obviously wanting to protect the unborn child. His mother's words came back to him clearly as he looked at the seemingly feeble-looking woman standing on the porch. Shaking his head in an attempt to get rid of the unsettling thoughts of his mother, he turned back towards the street.

"Hey, calm down Sunshine, we'll beat these guys."

"You really think they're going to come?" he whispered uncertainly, beginning to second-guess himself after he had reassured _her_ for most of the day.

Toph gave him a look askance. "If nothing else Shan will want a piece of you for going after his girl."

Zuko blinked in confusion, his face swinging towards Toph. "Wait, what?"

Toph sighed, puffing the hair out of her face for a moment and letting it fall back in place. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Honestly, between you and Aang I don't know which one's more oblivious."

Zuko frowned at her, though he was not completely sure whether it was from annoyance or confusion. Toph, however, took the opportunity to play 'little blind girl' and ignore it completely, causing him to finally relent and look away. Only a few moments later, Toph quickly crouched on the ground, drawing Zuko's attention, with one of her palms flat against the dirt and eyes narrowed in concentration. Toph faced towards Zuko, and Oka sucked in a breath in anticipation.

"Got 'em."

* * *

The thundering of heavy clawed feet was the villagers' first signal that the army of vandals had arrived. Young children were quickly ushered indoors, while the older children either sped around rallying adults together or got themselves into strategic positions where they would be out of the crossfire but still able to help defend their homes.

Zuko stood with his swords drawn at his sides and hood over his face. He tapped his foot against the ground in a subtle signal and Toph, who was somewhere in the middle of the village, ready to run the whole show from a safe spot. Zuko knew they would need to show the strength and resolve of the village openly, but he also wanted Toph to make sure there were no casualties on either side if they could help it.

The sun began to set below the horizon and the sky became darker and darker, losing its pink tint with each breath Zuko took. Although his night vision was far from perfect, he was confident that his opponents would have difficulty picking him out from the shadows that were creeping out from the houses. A bright flare in the corner of his eye caused Zuko to look to the left where shouts and a roar of a panicked komodo-rhino made him want to rush over and help, but he quickly reminded himself that Toph would step in if anyone was in real danger.

A snort from another komodo-rhino caught Zuko's attention and he did his best to stay pressed into the shadows as two riders urged their steeds forward in a slow, confident walk. It seemed as if his luck was still as terrible as ever when a stray fireball arched over one of the houses towards him. Thinking quickly, Zuko spun round and dissipated the flames with a sweeping kick. However, he had been discovered, and the two riders spurred their beasts forward in a charge, giving intimidating cries. Just as they were almost upon him, the riders let out shouts of surprise that were almost drowned out by the roars of their komodo-rhinos when the ground suddenly collapsed, wood splintering and cracking beneath them. Zuko hardly bothered to contain the smug grin from his face as the pit Toph and the rest of the village had dug earlier worked like a charm.

However, his victory was short-lived when both dismounted and slowly climbed out. They began stomping towards him with fists raised in a classic firebending pose. Zuko met them with swords still lazily held at his sides, the smile dropping from his face as he concentrated on the upcoming fight. Seeing his stance, the firebenders thought they would use it to their advantage and each sent a powerful, but surprisingly slow fire blast towards him.

Zuko waited for the blasts to get very close before ducking out of the way and with sudden, lightning fast speed, he twisted around, taking the fire blasts around him and redirecting them straight back at one of the firebenders. The other watched stunned as his friend was sent skidding into the dirt, finally stopping a few paces away. Seeing his partner struggling to get her breath back, the one closer to Zuko rushed towards him, shooting off fireballs from his fists in desperation to land at least one hit. Zuko quickly noticed the periodic timing of his attacks and dodged each one, moving closer to his opponent with each blast he avoided; his opponent too terrified to notice.

When the distance finally closed enough, Zuko briefly dropped his swords into the dirt and caught the man's two fists with each of his own hands, snuffing out the flames. The man, who looked only a few years older than Zuko, attempted to step back in surprise, but could only move so far due to Zuko's firm hold. Using the man's hesitation against him, Zuko twisted and, letting go of his hands, sent a weak fire blast kicking out with his foot aimed at the vandal's chest. Due to their close proximity, Zuko's opponent was sent flying back towards his companion. Zuko calmly knelt down and picked up his swords, twirling them in each hand before sheathing them in a flourish. He gave the vandals a hard look and the two started retreating a few paces back before turning around completely and rushing away as fast as they could run.

Zuko watched them disappear before letting out a breath of relief. Hearing the bellows of the komodo-rhinos becoming more panicked, Zuko walked over to the side of the pit leading out of the village and bent down to grab the reigns of the first beast, who was attempting to dig its way out. Redirecting the beast upwards, it and its companion soon understood to climb up the side with Zuko guiding them up. When they were finally out the first brushed its nose against Zuko, causing him to place his hands on the beast's muzzle and brace himself from being pushed to the ground.

"Lee!"

Zuko looked up to see one of the younger boys standing at the end of the road. Zuko gave him a nod of acknowledgement and once he was sure the komodo-rhinos would wander back home on their own, Zuko walked over. Raising his eyebrow in question, Zuko listened with rapt attention as the story poured from the boy's lips.

"Shan came with some of his men and took Oka. He's taking her from the village, but we can't stop him!"

Zuko sent an acknowledging nod and rushed in the direction the boy had pointed to, hoping that the villagers and Toph would be able to stop the other intruders together. The moon shone high over him as he ran past alleyways and houses, glancing each way in an attempt to find Oka.

"Let me go!"

Zuko skidded around a corner and crouched into the shadows, watching the leader of the vandals drag the herbalist away from the village. Zuko took a breath to center himself, stepped out under the moonlight and sent a large fireball around the two. The fireball exploded on a tree just in front of them. Oka screamed and in the confusion Shan let her go, allowing her to push herself away from him. Shan tried to grab at her again, but Zuko sent a wave of fire between the two, forcing Shan to back away from her or get burned.

Shan turned his face towards Zuko with a nasty smile that looked as if he was trying to remain calm and cool-looking despite his obvious rage. "So, who do we have here?" he glanced at Oka who was sat back against one of the near-by buildings. "Looks like your boyfriend's come to save you."

Zuko's expression darkened considerably such that Shan's attention moved back to him. "You have no idea who you're dealing with."

Shan sneered dismissively before giving Oka one last glance and ran towards Zuko, his right fist back and covered in bright red flames. Zuko stood deceptively still at first, only spinning out of the way at the last moment, allowing Shan's own momentum to overbalance him, causing him to throw his arms out in order to rebalance himself. Shan let out a frustrated kick of fire backwards, which Zuko calmly dissipated with splayed out hands.

"Why don't you fight me, you coward?" Shan screamed, sending another punch of fire towards Zuko, each strike fuelled more and more by his anger.

Zuko almost felt sorry for Shan as he dodged another blast, remembering the rage he had felt when trying to fight Aang. However, Zuko had already learnt his lesson in patience and was not going to be baited into attacking until he was ready.

Shan let out a cry of frustration and looked like he was about to make another wild strike, when his eyes shifted to another target and he let out a ferocious and precise kick. Oka screamed as the fire shot towards her and Zuko barely had enough time to shoot out his own blast to divert the flames away from her. Fortunately for both of them, the fire skidded across the ground rather than hitting one of the houses.

Zuko barely had enough time to register what had happened when Shan sent a volley of fireballs towards him. Zuko's eyes narrowed at the display and he kicked out a concentrated blast of fire straight through the weaker flames to smack Shan in the chest, all the while cursing himself for letting Shan take advantage like that. Using the techniques he had learned fighting Katara, Zuko made a sweeping motion around him and gathered up all the stray flames into his palms, before calmly bringing his hands together and suffocating the remaining sparks out.

Shan was lying on the ground, panting heavily with his palms propping him up and a look of disbelief on his face. Zuko glanced back then at Oka standing behind him and motioned for her to go ahead. She gave Zuko a silent nod before quickly walking back towards the village, sparing a couple of glances back towards Shan. Zuko followed for a few paces so that he was once again between Shan and Oka and then stopped.

Zuko then glanced back over his right shoulder, his scarred eye narrowing dangerously. "Take your friends out of the village and go home. I never want to see you attacking here again."

As gracefully as possible, Shan pulled himself onto his feet and laughed, "Stick around, _kid_. Your threats mean _nothing_ against my family. Just you wait; I'll bring an army to raze this town to the ground for defying me."

Shan turned and walked away and Zuko tried to ease the sinking feeling in his stomach. Nevertheless, there was still work to be done and Zuko turned back towards the village to find Toph. This turned out to be much easier than he had anticipated, as he found her stomping towards him when he entered the main square.

"I hate this! Hiding my bending sucks. I want some of the glory too!" she whispered furiously to Zuko, her arms crossed over her chest, pouting at him.

Zuko took a look around the village and, noting that nothing seemed to be on fire, attempted to offer her a comforting pat on the shoulder that she probably took to be patronizing. He glanced down one of the alleyways where someone was approaching one of the deepened holes.

"Speaking of which," he bent down, whispering in her ear, "you might want to bend the pits back to their original size before someone takes the time to really notice that they've miraculously deepened."

Toph stuck her tongue out at him childishly before unwrapping her arms and letting out a sigh. The gesture was so slight Zuko almost missed it, but he contained his relief when he watched people examining the pits without any suspicion in their gazes. It looked as if they had won the battle for now.

* * *

General Bujing sat at the long breakfast table with his wife across from him all the way at the other end. She was a weak-minded woman, who enjoyed the luxuries she had married into too much to speak against her manipulative husband. They both sipped their tea silently when Shan interrupted, slamming open the doors to the breakfast room and stopping in with a sour look on his face.

His wife was the first to ask what the matter was, pushing back her chair and looking at her spoilt son in concern. General Bujing had wanted to send the boy off to the army, but it was the one topic where his wife refused to let him win. He knew his son was nothing more than a weakling who liked to spend his time with his other friends terrorizing the peasantry. However, as long as the peasants continued to supply money and people to the Fire Lord's vision he could care less what happened to them.

"Some scarred kid travelling through one of the lower villages rallied all the residents and drove us out of town," his son spat with contempt.

General Bujing's gaze immediately fixed onto his son. He leaned back on his chair, looking deceptively casual as he brought up one hand to his chin. It was possible it was just a coincidence. "Scarred, was he?"

His son seemed oblivious to his father's change in mood. Shan gestured over his right eye, but drew a very familiar pattern. "Looked like he took a fireball to the face. Not that I blame the person who did that to him."

General Bujing's impassive frown cracked, though he hid it with his fingers steepled in front of him. "How did he fight?"

"He used dual swords and was a weird firebender. Somehow, he found a way to trip me without there being anything to trip over. Father, you have to punish him and the rest of that flee-termite infested village!"

Bujing looked between his wife and his son, both of whom looked pathetic in his eyes; nevertheless, Bujing stood with a deliberate motion, his chair scraping back behind him, and began walking purposefully outside.

"When did he arrive?"

"A few days ago, Father," his son obediently replied.

"Well, I'll just have to speak with this interesting new guest."


	4. Agni Kai

**Here is the final part of the story. I did a bit of editing, so hopefully it now flows better than my submission for the Big Bang. I originally cut it down a little, but then it somehow expanded into this monster when I smoothed out some of the POVs. Hope you don't mind long chapters. Thank you to everyone for your wonderful feedback. Beware that there is both a lot of action and a lot of cutting between scenes. Hopefully it comes across well.  
**

* * *

_**The Herbalist Part IV - Agni Kai  
**_

General Bujing stepped out from the start of a warm summer day into the much cooler herbalist's shop. He took his time as he walked casually into the store and let his eyes adjust to the comparative darkness. Letting his gaze roam around the room, he took note of the jars and baskets behind the large wooden counter and the door to the side with a thin cloth across, giving the owner a small amount of privacy. He looked down at the dull metal bell that sat on the counter, but instead of hitting it to gain some attention, Bujing merely stepped behind the counter, pulled back the curtain and walked through quietly. At first, the house appeared to be deserted, but the sound of laughter floated in from the back. With a frown, Bujing followed the noise, leading him through the disgustingly small kitchen and out to the garden.

There were three people – two sitting on the decking and one he could barely see the head of on the ground – chatting amicably together. His gaze immediately focused on the young man that his son had described – scar visible for him to see. General Bujing noted with mild interest the small smile on the boy's face and how it almost made him look like he belonged in this quaint peasant scene. So engrossed were the three in their conversation that Bujing was able to move so that he was only a few steps away from them. However, this was hardly surprising considering the boy's compromised vision.

"This is certainly unexpected."

The doctor's girl scooted back away from him, fear evident on her face. The other girl shot to her feet, a fighting stance ready, but it was the traitor's reaction that interested the General most. The boy had yet to move, except to take a sip of the tea that had been in his hand when the General had entered. Suddenly Bujing wondered if the boy had known he was there the whole time. The boy's eyes narrowed and he slowly released his white-knuckled grip on the tea cup – the only indication he was perturbed by the General's presence– as he set it on the floor. He remained seated on the floor, but General Bujing hardly missed the tensing of the traitor's fists, ready for a fight.

"General Bujing." Surprisingly it was that herbalist who found her words first, despite her obvious fear of him.

"I'm surprised," he started, looking at the traitor in the eyes. "My son told me there was a troublemaker in the village, but instead I find a royal visitor. I would hate to appear to be an uncharitable host to the son of the Fire Lord." He paused long enough for each to understand his implication. "You should have sent word that you were intending to visit my humble island, P_rince_ Zuko," he finished with a mocking bow.

The Prince stiffened at the use of his real name and Oka's eyes flew from Bujing to the traitor in dawning horror. Bujing watched as Zuko stood up smoothly, taking a step towards him, effectively shielding the two girls. He looked as if he might say something, but Bujing was hardly finished.

"And your companion must be the Avatar's blind earthbending teacher. I believe you are wanted on several islands, young lady. I am afraid that none of the wanted posters seemed to know your name though…"

"It's Toph," the young girl replied, not the least bit fazed. "Not that it'll help you find Aang."

"Ah of course, I should have remembered that from the Ember Island play about your little mishaps," his gaze met with Prince Zuko's, who glared stonily back at him. "It's apparently quite entertaining. I unfortunately haven't had the pleasure to see it yet."

"What do you want?" Zuko ground out, fists shaking by his sides, clearly not enjoying their conversation.

"It seems that you are at least able to control your outbursts better than you used to," he complimented, though the Prince would know the barbed insult behind it. "But you are correct. You beat my son in a fight that was interrupted by your little earthbending friend right here; am I correct? I am here to firstly confirm my suspicions as to your true identity and secondly to challenge you to an Agni Kai on behalf of my son today at sunset. I trust you will fight honorably despite your traitor status?"

"Hey pops, I only helped him the first time," the little girl countered.

Zuko shushed her before turning back to give him a hard look and nodding slowly. "I accept on the condition that if I win you will order your son and his friends to stop stealing and terrorizing people."

General Bujing nodded in agreement, though an oily smile spread across his face. "Still fighting for the weak, Prince Zuko? I would have thought you had learned your lesson after nearly losing your eye in that pointless defiance."

"I'll always protect my people from men like you who think they are nothing more than pieces on your war map."

Bujing turned away, taking one last glance down his nose at the traitor. "You never understood the bigger picture; your father was all too happy to see the back of you."

Instead of the expected shame and anger, the boy had the gall to look smug. "The only thing I'm sorry for is not standing up to him sooner."

"You tell 'im, Zuko!" the young earthbender supported, cracking her knuckles. She pointed out a finger in Bujing's general direction, "I don't know who you think you are, but Zuko'll beat your kid without me needing to lift a finger."

"Of course; I suppose that was quite rude of me," he bowed towards her, knowing she could not see it. "My name is General Bujing. I am one of the glorious Fire Lord Ozai's most trusted generals."

"The man who sent a platoon of new recruits against a group of highly skilled earthbenders, knowing most would be sacrificed so that an elite platoon could sneak up on the earthbenders from behind and slaughter them," Zuko stated with only a hint of anger bleeding through into his voice.

"Still mourning the 41st, Prince Zuko?" Bujing mocked, "You always have been a sentimental fool."

The General did not even bother to look at their responses before he swept out of the tiny house and out onto the dusty streets back towards his own home.

* * *

Zuko continued to stare out after the General, not bringing himself to look over at Oka. A brush of a hand against the back of his own caused him to look down at Toph deliberately cutting herself off from the ground to stand beside him. The gesture meant more to him than she would probably ever know. Gaining strength from her presence, Zuko looked across the porch to Oka, who stared at him in disbelief, a hand over her belly.

"If you would like us to leave…" Zuko offered, but she cut him off abruptly.

"_You're_ the traitor Prince?"

Zuko's conviction in himself increased with her words and he pulled himself up straight and tall. "That's not how I see it." He placed a hand on Toph's shoulder and bent down. "Can you get our stuff?"

Toph paused for a moment before nodding her head and stumbling back through the house, though on much surer feet than before.

Oka turned out towards the garden, sitting back on the porch, her legs swinging down below her. Zuko copied her, but stayed on the other side of the steps, far enough that she felt safe. The two sat in silence for what felt like an age before Oka finally decided to speak.

"Why?" her voice came out as a whisper, but Zuko's hearing had always been better than most.

Not knowing what she was asking him, Zuko continued to stare into the distance and allowed her to gather her thoughts.

He saw Oka turn her head towards him and Zuko faced her as well. "Why are you helping us?"

Zuko forced his head down again, looking towards the dirt below him. "I can't stand by while people are taken advantage of by those who are supposed to be protecting them, especially those that I swore to protect."

"Then why," she asked desperately, "would you abandon us for the Avatar?"

This time Zuko did gain the courage to look her in the eyes with the determination that had kept him looking for a legend for three years even when everyone else told him it was a fool's quest. "I couldn't protect you by staying at my father's side," he glanced around to make sure no one else was listening in on their conversation before continuing. "The Fire Lord and the Generals have approved a plan to wipe out the Earth Kingdom the same way we killed the Air Nomads, by using Sozin's Comet to burn the land and everyone living in it to the ground."

"What about our soldiers?" Oka asked, obviously not quite believing the Fire Lord would willingly sacrifice his own people.

Zuko shook his head, his gaze falling towards the ground again, unable to speak. Oka's breathing became louder, but her revulsion stopped her from a stronger reaction at first.

"How could they do that to us?" she whispered, disbelieving.

Zuko sighed, remembering the day he was banished from his family and his home. His hand unconsciously drifted up towards his scar, feeling the glossy damaged skin under his fingers. He set his hand down again before gaining the courage to speak.

"Three years ago I was banished for speaking out against a plan approved by the Generals to sacrifice young recruits against a much stronger division of elite earthbenders. Their plan was to use the young troop to allow a much older and more experienced troop to cut off the earthbenders from behind and defeat them. Yori is the first survivor of the 41st I have met.

"The Fire Lord and his Generals care little for the people that are fighting their war. While they sit in the Fire Nation Capitol, our people are dying every day from a war that we might win, but only by eliminating any resistance. The Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes will never surrender peacefully and I can no longer stand by and watch my people wipe out the rest of the world."

Zuko risked a glance at Oka, who stared out into the distance. "Thank you for telling me," she said with a sad, but sincere smile. She turned to look directly at him. "It must have taken a lot of courage to leave."

"I've heard courage and stupidity are interchangeable," he responded in a self-deprecating way as they both stood.

If anything Oka's smile grew wider, "I would be honored if you would fight for us."

Zuko smiled at her and dipped his head to her, gracious as any noble. "Thank you."

He was about to step back into the house when Oka called to him, causing him to turn his head back to look at her.

"You didn't get that scar during a training accident, did you?"

Zuko returned her expressing with a bitter smile, "Despite popular belief, even I'm not that unskilled."

Without giving her any further explanation, Zuko walked inside up to the room he shared with Toph to see her standing in the middle with her bag over her shoulder. He sent a quick burst of flame towards one of the oil lamps, giving a little more light to the room. Toph's face was set in a grim line, head held high.

"You sure about this?"

"I can't back down. Not against him," Zuko looked towards his bag and made a split second decision. "Why don't you go ahead? I'll meet you downstairs, Toph."

Toph stood there for a moment and Zuko wondered if she was going to ignore him, but then she shrugged and picked up her bag. "Sure thing, Zuko."

Zuko turned his head to watch her leave, wondering if he should comment about her using his real name. He felt a grateful smile creep onto his face despite the grim situation, however it soon slipped away as he crouched in front of his bag and began rummaging through the contents.

The flash of gold at the bottom made it easy to find the object he had been looking for. Holding it up to the light, he watched orange and gold shimmer off the surface, and scattering the light at odd angles. The crown that Sozin had given to his best friend as a child was still as magnificent as it had been a hundred years ago, but Zuko was careful as he set it down on a nearby table and pulled a brush through his hair and into a topknot. He wrapped a band around it to keep it in place and looked at himself in the mirror to check his appearance before finally removing the pin from the crown and placing it on his head and securing it tightly.

Looking in the mirror again, Zuko automatically felt his shoulders pull back and his posture straighten. He would be fighting Shan as the Prince of the Fire Nation – one noble to another. He sighed a little at his travel-worn clothes, but knew there was nothing he could do to make his appearance look any better.

"Hurry up, Princess!" Toph's shout reverberated off wooden walls, shaking dust from the rafters.

Zuko gave himself one last look-over before letting out a nervous breath and opening the door to meet with the two girls. As he reached the top of the stairs, his eyes gravitated towards Oka, who looked at him as if she was staring at some great and powerful spirit. His expression softened in an attempt to reassure her, which she returned with a tentative smile.

* * *

The walk to the General's house was uneventful and silent. All three could feel the tension that was growing in the air. As they entered the enormous walled courtyard, Oka took a step back at the sheer number of nobles standing around the large tiled area that was obviously serving as the arena. Whispers began circulating around the courtyard, several people pointing to Roku's crown on his head. Zuko barely held back the smirk as he watched Shan bristle from across the platform.

"It's all right," Zuko reassured softly, without a shred of worry in his voice.

Toph stepped up to stand just barely behind him on his right, ready to quickly throw up a defense if anyone foolishly decided to start attacking them. However, it seemed as if everyone was more interested in the forthcoming Agni Kai to even consider taking a cheap shot at the traitor.

"Well it looks like you made it just in time." Shan called from the other side of the courtyard, arrogantly. "We were taking bets as to whether you would bother to show your ugly face."

A brush of cloth and Zuko removed his outer robe and shirt adding, "I never back down from a fight."

"You won't be able to cheat this time." Shan smirked, "When I win this duel, I'm taking your head as a present to the Fire Lord."

Zuko did not even deign to honor Shan with a response as he calmly unstrapped his boots and removed them, placing them in a neat pile with his other clothes and ignoring his opponent. He took two bands of gold that were offered to him and slipped them onto his arms. A man stepped forward next to a large gong, which seemed to be the starting signal and the two turned away from each other and crouched onto the ground. Oka stepped forward and placed a cloth on Zuko's shoulders. Zuko heard the tapping of shoes as the two non-combatants stepped back from the arena and a long silence followed, in which even the wind seemed to stop. No one made a sound as the sun continued to set slowly below the horizon. Out of the corner of Zuko's eye General Bujing watched on, knuckles tightening into fists in his lap.

Suddenly the gong sounded, and before any of the spectators seemed to have time to process it, a large burst of flame shot from Shan's backward kick towards Zuko. Zuko, who had been expecting the strike, turned around and gracefully dispersed the flames with the back of one hand, allowing them to scatter away and fizzle out. In contrast to Zuko's calm, Shan was already running towards him with a shout of fury, sending quick, successive punches of fire towards Zuko, who easily knocked each one away all the while keeping his eyes directly on Shan.

Finally, Shan closed enough distance that he probably felt comfortable Zuko would be unable to block the next attack and ducked low under the remnants of dissipating flames, bringing a new fist wrapped in fire up towards Zuko's face and pushing chi through his feet to get extra speed. However just as he was about to land the hit, Zuko's hand shot up and grabbed his fist, smothering the flames without any effort. Shan's eyes widened as Zuko looked down at him with severity, pausing for a moment before letting go of the hand and in a split second bringing up his leg and kicking Shan back with a bare foot.

The noble rolled over his side a few times before coming to a stop and pushing himself out of the way just in time to avoid a concentrated burst of flame aimed at him. He attempted to send a volley of fireballs towards Zuko, but his aim was mostly terrible and Zuko easily dodged the first few, moving closer with each step and finally dissipating the last one, revealing the flaming fist that he punched out towards Shan's chest. It hit its intended target, knocking Shan further towards the spectators, who had begun to move away, jeering Zuko as they did.

* * *

Toph felt it as their feet left the ground, leaping away or preparing for a strike. Watching almost gave her the same rush she remembered when observing the Earth Rumble fights, but what she felt was different: the wash of heat compared to the rumble of stone; solid, sure, powerful leaps compared to unbreakable stances. The grin on her face could not get any wider. She had missed this…

* * *

"Toph?" Oka looked down at the young girl, whose head had suddenly spun back towards the village, eyebrows pulling into a puzzled frown.

"Hey," Toph asked as if she had missed Oka's question completely, "you mind keeping an eye on Zuko for me?" Toph inclined her head to the side so that Oka could see the serious expression on her face.

Oka gave a nod, followed by a noise of confirmation just in case the young earthbender was unable to sense it. However, Toph was already running down the hill, raising the earth up towards her and pushing it forward like a wave to move faster. Oka looked after her for a moment, unable to understand why Toph would rush away from the battle, but a shout from the arena brought her back to the fight and she turned to watch the duel.

Prince Zuko was effectively pushing Shan into a corner. Sweat was streaming down the other bender's face and despite pouring all of his frustrations into the flames, Shan was unable to burn through Zuko's attack. Suddenly, Zuko kicked out with his foot, catching Shan's ankle and bringing him crashing to the ground. Oka could hear Shan's heavy breathing even from where she was standing as Zuko walked towards him. Flames condensed around the Prince's fist as he stood over Shan, ready to deliver the final blow.

* * *

The village was burning. Mei Ling moved as fast as her legs would carry her, all the while cursing her age and the village's vulnerability. It had been too easy to think they had won the war last night. In fact, it had only been one small battle. As she approached the town square, she saw the flames roar up and strip themselves from the roofs to rain down on the intruders. Silhouetted by the flames was Yori standing tall in the middle, fingers splayed out to control the flames. He tilted his head towards her and offered her a grim smile before taking in the developing situation.

"Apparently Lee is quite the firebending instructor."

Mei Ling laughed and surveyed their opponents gathering together to overpower them. "The kid's got something, that's for sure. Can't think of anyone else barmy enough to teach waterbending moves to a bunch of proud firebenders." At Yori's surprised look she added, "Oh come now, I've seen a couple of barbarians in my time to know what another bending style looks like."

Yori smiled, but then turned back to look at the nobles in front of them. "We can't win, you know that right?" Yori asked, his tone changing to quiet acceptance.

"Well, we certainly won't give up without a fight," Mei Ling braced herself as the opposing firebenders charged their attacks.

Just as they released a massive fireball towards Mei Ling and Yori, a giant wave of earth rose up suddenly and blocked the attack. It moved through the square, allowing a small girl in red to coast in over it with a grin on her face.

"You guys want some backup?"

Mei Ling wasted no time, sending a punch of fire straight at the young earthbender. The girl, who she recognized from before as Mai (if that was her real name), barely ducked in time, holding up her hands in a gesture of peace.

"Woah, cool it, I'm on your side!"

"We don't need help from a dirt-eater!" Mei Ling shouted back furiously, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her from doing any more.

Mei Ling turned to look up at Yori, who squeezed her shoulder in reassurance before turning to the young earthbender. "You would help us?"

The young girl gave him a determined nod and stomped the ground to send a few of the vandals running for cover. "No one deserves to be treated the way you guys are, especially considering how much you're willing to give up for your nation. I'm not gonna stand by and let you all get squashed by a bunch of cowards. Besides," she added, cracking her knuckles, "Zuko'd never forgive me if I let his people suffer."

Realization dawned on both of them, but Mei Ling knew there was no time for more explanations as the number of vandals seemed to be increasing. The earthbender smirked at the two veterans before turning to face their opponents.

"You guys tackle the fires while I deal with these weaklings," she sunk into a solid stance. "It's time they learnt not to pick on their own people."

* * *

Bujing watched from his seat as the traitor stood over Shan. The boy was so intent on not hitting General Bujing's son that he failed to notice the person approaching him from his blind side until the fire punch almost connected. General Bujing tightened his grip on the chair he was sitting in, lips pressed together in a thin line as Zuko began defending himself against the newcomer. However he remained where he was, eyes trained intently on the former Prince of the Fire Nation as the boy barely threw up an effective block in time, the force from the blast sending him rolling across the ground.

General Bujing glanced over as a third combatant stepped into the arena. The Prince, apparently winded, pushed himself up just in time to see the third firebender sending a punch of fire towards his face. Reacting quickly, the Prince desperately punched out his own fire in a poor attempt to gain some control again. The crowd's cheers continued to increase in volume, chanting for the Prince's defeat.

* * *

The vibrations echoed up light armor that offered strong protection against a firebender, but not against Toph. Smirking, she sunk into a lower stance, her head turning to listen for anyone trying to sneak up on her. A woman on the ground ran towards her, punching out a ball of fire in front of her. Toph flipped up a slab of earth to block it up and then split it into pieces and fired them at her. A cry of pain let Toph know she had hit her mark, and she surged forward, ready to incapacitate the woman further and get the man who was standing a few paces behind her.

A sizzling of air and a wash of heat were the only warnings Toph were given before a fireball caught her on the shoulder and sent her rolling into the ground. Eyes wide, Toph attempted to gain control of the situation once more, pulling a large amount of earth around her as she continued to roll. Timing her air supply, she placed her palms on the ground from her shelter to feel out for her assailant, cursing her luck when she realized he must have been in one of the houses or on the rooftops. Knowing she was running out of air, Toph dragged herself through the ground, attempting to find a safe spot to resurface and regroup.

* * *

Zuko pulled back out of the way just in time to dodge a powerful strike aimed for his foot, but it did its intended job of throwing him further off balance. Out of desperation, Zuko flipped back on one hand and sent a whip of fire with his other towards his three opponents in an attempt to push them back. One of the intruders stepped in front of Shan and dissipated the whip with ease, allowing Shan's other firebender to rush around his friend and aim a fire-wreathed strike at Zuko.

Zuko ducked under, both feet firmly on the ground and was about to send a strike powerful enough to knock the man flying, when a blast came from his left side sending him rolling along the stone floor.

"Zuko!"

Oka's cry of warning could barely be heard above the crowd, but it was enough time for Zuko to turn and see the larger bender ready to stomp on his chest with fire trailing from his foot.

* * *

Toph heaved herself out of the ground and pressed her back against the nearest wooden building in order to take in big gulps of air. There was a twinge of pain in her shoulder, though fortunately it hardly felt as bad as her feet had been. She was the greatest earthbender in the world, why was she struggling against a few annoying nobles? There were screams coming from nearby, but instead Toph focused on her breathing. The sounds faded as she focused on everything moving on the ground and slowly amplified her awareness to what was above it. She couldn't see through air or wood, but there had to be people in armor above her. She concentrated on the traces of purified earth in the metal armor the enemies were wearing. Through the explosions and screams, Toph felt a trace of metal flying through the air and with a firm grip, yanked down as hard as she could.

* * *

Zuko rolled out of the way and swept out a leg out to knock the attacker to the ground. The firebender, not expecting the counterattack, fell back and smacked his head on the ground with a great crack, knocking himself out cold. Zuko swung up onto his feet with one hand still supporting him on the ground. He glanced towards the other two for a brief moment before putting his other hand on the ground and spinning his legs around, fire spiraling outwards. He then flipped up and, twisting his arms around him, brought all the flames not heading towards Shan and his remaining teammate around his body and shot it in a wave at the other intruder like one of Katara's torrents.

Both easily deflected the first wave, but Shan's friend had missed the second volley through the bright flames and was smacked back past the spectators, who managed to move out of the way in time, and into the one of the surrounding walls. Zuko allowed a vicious smirk to spread across his face as it appeared to dawn on Shan that he was once again alone.

* * *

Toph heard the surprised shriek of a young man just before the body made contact with the ground, letting out a thump that was muffled by the shouts of panic and surprise around them. Toph grinned in triumph as his metal armor sang in chorus with the ground she was already connected to, allowing her to map his body. Toph stomped her foot, encasing his hands and feet in stone and leaving him unable to free himself. Brushing off her hands in satisfaction, she turned her attention to her next opponent, who was much easier to find as the woman's feet were already on the ground. Toph grinned. No one could stop Toph Bei Fong, the World's Greatest Earthbender!

* * *

Shan attempted to duck and weave the Traitor's barrage of fire, preventing him from staging a proper counterattack. The brat had been holding back, Shan realized in a rage. The Traitor moved ever closer with each blast of fire and Shan could only hope for a miracle. It seemed as if luck was on his side as the Traitor sent out a sloppy punch that Shan easily blocked in triumph. However, the victory was short-lived. Before he could even think of launching a counter-strike he froze, realizing his error. Shan, in his hast, had fallen right into Zuko's trap. He felt his legs being swept out from under him, causing him to see stars.

By the time his eyes started to clear and his head stopped swimming, Shan felt a horrible pressure on his throat as Zuko's bare toes pushed down on his windpipe. In the firelight, the Traitor's scar looked even more terrifying than usual, casting terrifying shadows across his face.

"This fight is over."

Shan's lips thinned, draining them of color – a large contrast to his face, which reddened with heat in both anger and embarrassment at his situation. Shan took a couple of deep breaths, feeling an age pass, before he relaxed. Almost as soon as he had, the Traitor removed his foot and turned away without even a glance back. The crowd was deathly silent.

Shan's knuckles turned white as his hands pulled into fists. There was no way he would lose to a traitor! Standing up quickly, he swung his leg around with flames trailing behind. The traitor would regret turning his back on Shan!

All other thoughts were cut off when he felt a pressure around his foot and looked up to see Zuko blankly staring back at him with a firm grip that had dissipated his flames. The look the Traitor gave him was not one of surprise, but disappointment and Shan felt all his resentment against the boy threatening to consume him. The crowd moved towards him and Shan barely had time to send the Traitor a triumphant smirk before he was shoved away, crashing back onto the arena floor. The kid wouldn't get away from this many unfriendly faces, even with his earthbending henchman who was nowhere to be seen.

"Enough!" General Bujing looked every bit as intimidating as his position suggested he should be, especially when the torches surrounding the courtyard jumped four times their usual height.

Shan, hiding his surprise(his father never lost control like that), watched triumphantly as the guards closed in and the Traitor sunk into a fighting stance, glancing about warily, heavy breathing echoing around the courtyard. There was no way he could fight them all off after an Agni Kai. Shan had done his father a favor by wearing the boy down.

"How dare you dishonor me!"

Shan's head snapped towards his father in shock, realizing his father's rage was directed not at the Traitor, but at him.

"Father!" Shan exclaimed in confusion, attempting to stand quickly, but it seemed as if his father was having none of it.

"You will accept defeat like a man of your rank or suffer the consequences," his father interrupted with a voice of steel. "Don't you dare dishonor me more than you already have today."

Shan glowered at his father in defiance and stomped away in a flourish. However, no one walked over to consul him, too interested in the new development between the General and the former Prince.

* * *

"We had a deal," Zuko reminded the General, though he was ready to fight and clear a way for Oka to escape if necessary.

Bujing sent one last look towards the house, where his son had disappeared to. He let out a sigh and turned to meet Zuko's stony expression with a neutral one of his own. "And I always keep to my word. We may have our differences in opinion on how this war should end, but an Agni Kai is fought equally no matter who the opponent. My son's friends should never have interfered. You had won the minute they stepped in.

"I will be lifting the protection fee from all the villages and my son and his friends will have to find something else to occupy their time. I give you my word."

Zuko was not quite convinced, but gave a small nod in response nonetheless. The crowd began to disperse with disappointed murmurs as General Bujing stepped closer to Prince Zuko for a private conversation.

"Despite our differences in opinion, I hope that we will be able to work past that to make the Fire Nation a better place for the future," he added to Zuko in a quieter tone that no one else would hear.

Zuko watched General Bujing with suspicion, but gave a curt nod nonetheless. With nothing more to say to the man who had instigated his banishment, the Prince turned away from the arena and, with Oka at his side, put on his boots, slung his shirt and tunic over his shoulders, and walked almost casually back towards the village.

* * *

Heavy breathing was all that broke through the near-silence of the shocked villagers surrounding the young girl crouching on the ground, with one arm supporting her and her hand splayed out in an attempt to feel for any more opponents. Slowly, knowing she now had them all, Toph stood and lifted her head.

"My name is Toph Bei Fong, Greatest Earthbender in the World. If you _ever_ threaten this village again, I'll come back and bury you alive!"

In one motion she released every one of the captured vandals at the same time, sending them all flying into the air just high enough to leave an impression.

"Now get outta here!" she threatened, stones moving to her side ready to shoot them at anyone who got the stupid idea that she might be bluffing.

She felt the light footsteps of a young boy around her age happily running over only to be stopped by what she assumed was a stern mother. Getting ready to bring up a shield around her and bury underground, she would never admit she had not quite been paying attention to what the rest of the ground was telling her. She almost visibly jumped when a voice called from beyond the villagers surrounding her.

"Toph!"

The crowd parted and the whispers begin as Zuko and Oka approached them. Zuko had an arm up, possibly holding a bag or cloth over his shoulder, the vibrations were too soft to pick out the details. He probably looked pretty calm to everyone watching them approach, but Toph could feel his tension shouting to her through the Earth. He was both exhausted and wary that their recent allies may try to kill them. Toph wondered if he was thinking what she was: how could they leave without hurting the people they had just fought to protect?

"Sorry, I kinda blew our cover," Toph answered without any real apology, attempting to lighten the suffocating atmosphere - it didn't work.

"Don't worry," Zuko replied back in deadpan, "I think General Bujing or his son would have done it eventually out of spite."

Toph felt Zuko walk over to Oka and whisper something in her ear. Her hearing caught both Azula and Ozai's names and Toph frowned in suspicion. Something she would have to bring up later. Now was not the time to pick a fight with her only ally.

Oka's stance made it seem as if she was about to reply, but he pulled away before she got a chance, dropping a pouch with an assortment of bronze, silver and gold coins into her hand just before doing so. Toph waited until Zuko was next to her before turning and falling into step beside him. Despite the hostility emanating from the crowd, no one dared to attack someone who had just defeated at least half a dozen firebenders, even if they had not been military trained. Toph and Zuko left the village without another word.

"Well, this sucks!" exclaimed Toph, kicking a stone out in a huff when they were far enough out of earshot from the village.

"We're enemies of the Fire Nation. I would have expected no less," Zuko replied, though he sounded more resigned than angry.

"So I'm guessing you kicked Shan's butt?"

Zuko shot her a vicious smirk, "I think I successfully humiliated him."

Toph laughed loudly, but calmed down when she remembered his conversation with Oka.

"So wha'd you say to her?"

Either Zuko was as good a liar as his sister, or he was genuinely confused.

"You mentioned Ozai and Azula to Oka back there," she clarified.

"Oh," he paused in realization of her question. "I told her to note which direction we left in and send word to my sister and father."

"You did what," Toph exclaimed. She hadn't meant to sound so hysterical, but the calm way in which he said it had taken her a little off-guard.

Zuko stepped back, seeming to realize how bad that had sounded. "Not like that! The village will be punished if there's even a chance that they let us get away willingly."

"So this way, they're telling the truth that that General guy will most-likely corroborate."

"Plus, by getting word even before Bujing, any suspicion against them will hopefully be lifted."

"Huh," Toph acknowledged, "not bad, Princess."

Zuko groaned. "Alright, Sunshine and Hotman I can take, but please stop using that nickname!"

* * *

Toph burst into more laughter and Zuko scowled at her, though without any real heat behind it. However, they both tensed when they heard a rustling of leaves in front of them. Both stood ready, though Toph seemed slightly more relaxed.

"There you two are," Hakoda stepped out of the undergrowth with a friendly smile at the sight of familiar faces.

"What are you doing here?" Zuko asked; a bit surprised at their sudden appearance.

"We were all getting worried about you two," Haru replied, stepping out with Appa letting out a low bellow of greeting. "Aang didn't like the idea of his bending teachers being trapped in the Fire Nation."

"How is he?"

"Everyone's almost back to full health," reported Hakoda, his smile having much more meaning now. "We're just glad you two weren't torn apart by an angry Fire Nation mob."

"Uh…" Toph deliberately trying to look as innocent as possible, "well, we almost did. Zuko ticked off a bunch of nobles. Good thing I scared the village into leaving us alone."

Hakoda and Haru laughed in obvious disbelief as Zuko attempted to splutter out a defense for himself before settling for giving Toph a glare. When the laughter died down Toph continued.

"But seriously, why is it when you go off with Aang and Sokka you get to go on an awesome, life-changing fieldtrip?"

"What do you think _that_ was?" Zuko asked her incredulously as he helped her climb onto Appa.

"Having to deal with a bunch of prissy nobles and get none of the glory; yeah, that's way better than finding the secret to firebending or organizing a prison break," Toph countered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Why can't_ I_ be the one saving the day?"

"You saved the village!" Zuko countered while Haru climbed towards Appa's head.

"Only temporarily," Toph said, crossing her arms and sitting down in a huff with her nose in the air.

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose, whispering, "Why me?"

However, he apparently had not been quiet enough when he heard a chuckle from Hakoda and a laugh from Haru.

Toph either had not heard or just ignored them. "Next time I want a life-changing field trip with _real_ bad guys, like pirates or a ninja… or how about we find a lion turtle? Apparently no one's seen one of those in a while…"

By now, Toph was grinning as Zuko let out a groan of frustration. Soon Hakoda and Haru laughing even harder as Toph suggested more and more ridiculous adventures. Zuko let out a sigh while Haru urged Appa towards the Earth Kingdom, ready to change course when they were finally out of sight. Despite the outward appearance of being annoyed, Zuko could not help the smile that crept onto his face as he watched Toph lean back to sleep in the saddle. She was certainly a great friend to have around.

* * *

The palace prisons were dark, but much less damp than some of the others; or at least that is what Ty Lee optimistically told herself as she sat against the cold, stone wall as close as she could to the window that was in Mai's cell across from her. She watched her friend, who gazed up through the prison window to a blue sky that never showed them the Sun. Mai's face remained a mask of indifference as she stared out towards freedom and Ty Lee could not help but wonder if she was thinking about Zuko again.

Metal screeched and Mai's eyes flicked towards the door – her only movement to acknowledge the new arrival. Ty Lee, on the other hand, could not stop herself from sticking her face up to the bars; already knowing who was coming. The precise drum of boots confirmed any second-guessing. People scuttled to the backs of cells, except Ty Lee and Mai, who was the only one not to acknowledge the Princess' arrival.

Princess Azula first approached Ty Lee, and sent her the kind of smile she would give to her dolls before she set them alight. Ty Lee hunched a little further into herself, smiling brightly and backing away, knowing it would never be far enough if Azula did want to kill her there. Ty Lee continued to stare at Azula, too afraid to look away and potentially send the Princess over the edge. There was a touch of instability in the Princess' aura that Ty Lee had only glanced at when she had stopped Azula from killing Mai. She had hoped she had imagined it at the time.

Finally, after a few more agonizing moments Azula turned to look at Mai, a triumphant smirk on her face. Ty Lee followed Azula's glaze back to Mai, who just continued to watch the Princess without a change in expression, but Ty Lee could see the anger she truly felt simmering in the usual smoky greyness of her aura. Casually Azula leaned against Mai's cell, taunting the noblewoman with her own freedom.

"I heard some news that might interest you, Mai."

All the hairs on the back of Ty Lee's head stood on end and her stomach dropped in fear for Zuko and Mai. Silence was the only thing that answered Azula, but both she and Ty Lee knew Mai well enough to tell that the other girl was interested. If anything, her apparent apathy told both girls more than any expression could have. The silence continued and Ty Lee wondered how long Azula would draw this out.

"It seems as if your boyfriend… oh sorry," she corrected silkily, and Ty Lee cringed, "I mean _ex_-boyfriend; was spotted in the Fire Nation with that blind earthbending girl. He got away of course," she added in a blasé tone, looking at her perfectly manicured nails, "but it seems he's taken us right to his hideout with the Avatar and all his little friends."

Ty Lee could hear the interest from all around the cell now. The Kyoshi warriors in one area and the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom further down. Others were listening and whispering, passing the information down and playing right into Azula's trap. Ty Lee wanted to curl up into herself, silently telling them to be quiet, stop making it worse; but her fear for Mai kept her watching with almost morbid fascination.

"Honestly," she continued as if no one but Mai was listening, "he comes to the Fire Nation and he doesn't even come to rescue you?

"But don't worry, Mai," she continued almost immediately, gripping the bars with both hands. "After I'm done with him I'll bring back what's left of his body for you to cherish."

Ty Lee could not hold in the gasp of horror at what Azula was implying, but she appeared more interested in Mai. Silently Ty Lee cursed, knowing she had played right into the Princess' hands again. She looked towards Mai who, obviously having had enough of Azula's taunts, finally stood slowly and gracefully walking up to the front of the cell, her expression remaining the same. Each step was deliberate as she moved closer and closer to the front until they were less than a hand-span apart. Ty Lee held her breath.

Ty Lee almost missed the jolt in Azula's stance as she attempted to stop herself from taking a step back when Mai straightened her shoulders to tower over the Princess. Azula had let go of the bars without thought and now lowered her arms to her sides, seemingly without thinking. Mai looked down on Azula as if she was worthless, as if the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation herself had failed some test that her former friend had set. Against her better judgement, Ty Lee crept back close to the bars, but it didn't matter. All of Azula's attention was now on Mai.

"Do you think I'm the only one who prefers Zuko more than they fear you?" Mai stepped closer so that her face was almost touching the bars, one hand clasped lightly around a metal rung as if she was _choosing_ to remain in there, rather than being locked in. "You treat everyone around you like dirt, from the youngest servant up to your precious Dai Li. Zuko knows they are below his station and yet he treats every one of them with respect, even if they disrespect them."

"Zuko is a pushover. No one will follow someone as weak as him." Azula snapped back, but she was obviously thrown by Mai's sudden change in behavior.

Mai, having noticed as well, smiled maliciously and Ty Lee barely caught the shiver go down Azula's spine. Mai had never smiled at Azula like that before – like a cat toying with its prey. "And yet he did the impossible and not only broke into, but escaped the Boiling Rock. Every day he eludes you is another day people wonder if he really was the failure you and your father said he was."

"He escaped from the Boiling Rock with help and you know it!" Azula hissed a breath away from Mai's face.

"He's surrounded himself with powerful allies whom he trusts and trust him in return. When was the last time you accomplished something by _yourself_, Azula?"

"Ba Sing Se…"

"Would you have won it without me and Ty Lee, without the Dai Li, without _Zuko_?" Azula stiffened and Mai pushed through. "What happens when the Dai Li finally grow tired of being ordered around like dogs? What happens when your servants finally realize there's someone better to lead them?"

Azula's scream of pure rage was Mai's only warning before she was slammed into the back of her cell by a sharp burst of blue fire. Ty Lee screamed in horror, causing Azula to glance back at her, but she no longer cared about Azula, instead shouting Mai's name in fear and worry.

"Mai, Mai, are you all right?"

Ty Lee felt the tears at her eyes when she stared over at Mai, who was not moving. Just as she was about to call out again Mai slowly pushed herself up with one arm, the other clutched around her waist, to glare defiantly at the Princess. Ty Lee smiled in relief, but the smile soon slipped away when she looked up at Azula's terrifying aura.

Azula let out a screech and began charging up a shot of lightening, electricity dancing around her fingers with none of the control she was famous for. Ty Lee shouted in warning, not quite knowing which one she was trying to protect, but to her surprise and horror Mai just smiled at Azula grimly, egging the Princess to finish what she started.

"Princess!"

Azula turned sharply and the electricity surrounding her died down almost as quickly. "What is it?" she shouted in fury.

The soldier cringed before dropping in full prostration. "Forgive me, Your Highness, but the war fleet is ready to go after the traitor."

All anger left Azula's face and she shot a triumphant smile towards Mai, whose expression had already morphed back into neutrality. Directing all her attention towards the soldier in front of her and ignoring all the prisoners, Ty Lee watched as Azula calmly sent him back to finish with the preparations.

Azula sent one last triumphant glance towards Mai. "It looks like it won't be much longer before I'm celebrating my future as an only child."

The slam of the steel door sounded like a death knoll. Ty Lee glanced over at Mai, wondering if she was all right, only to notice the silent tears falling down the normally stoic girl's face. Nothing else gave the taller girl's fears away and Ty Lee decided that if Mai would not acknowledge them then neither would she. Ty Lee turned to look towards where Azula had left, wondering if she should be more worried for Zuko or Azula.

* * *

General Bujing sat behind his desk thinking over the Agni Kai from the previous day. At the recent war meeting he had thought the Prince would speak out against the Fire Lord's plans, but other than his initial shock the boy had said nothing. To Bujing, that had been one of the things immediately setting off alarm bells. He was unsurprised, then, to hear of the boy's defection, but seeing him in that Agni Kai had shed a completely new light on the traitor that everyone had deemed a failure as well.

Prince Zuko had never been talented at firebending, being pushed aside for his younger sister who had so much more potential. Watching the boy's first Agni Kai had only solidified the idea in Bujing's mind that the Prince was weak-minded and a coward. However, the man standing before his son in the Agni Kai was powerful, skilled and benevolent. He could have struck Bujing's son out of spite for what happened over three years ago, but he walked away honorably even after Bujing's own son was so dishonorable.

A disturbing thought came to Bujing at the end of that duel: what if Prince Zuko did have the power to become the next Fire Lord? In the time since Prince Zuko's defection, he had successfully broken in and out of the most notorious prison in the Fire Nation and eluded Princess Azula's capture. With the Avatar now able to master all four elements, it was seemingly more and more likely that the traitor would become the next Fire Lord. So where did that leave him?

"Am I interrupting?"

Papers scattered as General Bujing stepped around his desk and hastily fell into full prostration for Princess Azula. He tried to stop his erratic breathing, hoping that she did not catch onto his traitorous thoughts.

"Of course not, Princess. Your presence is always appreciated in my humble abode," he replied, refusing to stand until she turned away.

"Good. I need your best map," she responded, boots clicking on the polished wooden floor as she walked back out.

With some difficulty – he was getting too old for this – General Bujing slowly stood up and walked out of the room after the Princess, but not before shouting orders to one of the servants.

Stepping inside the dark room that he normally used for dining, he saw several more high-class military figures standing to attention while the Princess stood in the middle. The servant returned with Bujing's best map and rolled it in front of her before ducking away hastily. It seemed Bujing was not the only one who could sense that Princess Azula's patience might be a bit shorter than usual.

"General, which way did you say the bison went?"

Somewhat startled, Bujing stepped forward and pointed towards the north-eastern area of the Earth Kingdom and Pohuai Stronghold. "It took off in this direction. That could mean they have found allies in the northern Earth Kingdom to assist them. There is of course the Northern Air Temple to consider as well."

"Possibly." Azula replied, but seemed to be more interested in studying the area closer to the Fire Nation. "My brother and the Water Tribe boy were spotted at the Boiling Rock. I don't think he is stupid enough to lead us straight back to their hiding place, so…" She trailed off, continuing to study the map.

Several of the other military personnel, including General Bujing leaned in to see if they could find what she was looking for. Finally, a triumphant smile covered her face, touched with a glee that made Bujing's throat go dry.

"Commander," she directed, not even bothering to look at the man as she rolled up the map, "I want the fleets restocked and ready tonight."

"Your Highness, what is our heading?"

Just as she was about to reach the door, Princess Azula stopped and turned her head to look at the Commander. Her smile could only be described as maniacal when she replied finally replied, "To the Western Air Temple, of course." She walked out the door, leaving the men shaken.


End file.
